UCSB LIBRARY
 
 Myths That Every Child Should Know
 
 The "Every Child Should Know" Books 
 
 Poems Every Child Should Know, 
 Edited by Mary E. Burt 
 
 Fairy Tales Every Child Should 
 Know, 
 
 Edited by H. W. Mabie 
 My ths E very Child Should Know, 
 
 Edited by H. W. Mabie 
 
 Songs Every Child Should Know, 
 Edited by Dolores Bacon 
 
 Legends Every Child Should 
 Know, 
 
 Edited by H. W. Mabie 
 
 Heroes Every Child Should 
 Know, 
 
 Edited by H. W. Mabie 
 
 Birds Every Child Should Know, 
 By Neltje Blanchan 
 
 Water Wonders Every Child Should 
 Know, 
 
 By Jean M. Thompson 
 
 Famous Stories Every Child Should 
 Know, 
 
 Edited by H. W. Mabie 
 
 Hymns Every Child Should Know, 
 Edited by Dolores Bacon 
 
 Heroines Every Child Should Know, 
 Co-edited by H. W. Mabie and 
 Kate Stephens 
 
 Essays Every Child Should Know, 
 
 Edited by H. W. Mabie 
 Prose Every Child Should Know, 
 
 Edited by Mary E. Burt 
 
 Pictures Every Child Should Know, 
 By Dolores Bacon
 
 MEDE1A AND JASON WITH THE GOLDEN FLEECE
 
 MYTHS EVERY CHILD 
 SHOULD KNOW 
 
 A SELECTION OF THE CLASSIC MYTHS 
 OF ALL TIMES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 EDITED BY = 
 
 HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE 
 
 ILLUSTRATED AND DECORATED 
 BY BLANCHE OSTERTAG 
 
 GARDEN CITY NEW YORK 
 DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 
 
 1913
 
 Copyright, 1905, by 
 Doubleday, Page & Company 
 
 AU rights reserved, 
 
 that of translation into foreign languages, 
 including the Scandinavian,
 
 NOTE 
 
 The editor and publishers wish to express their 
 appreciation of the courtesy of Messrs. Houghton, 
 Mifflin & Co., Dodd, Mead & Co., and the Macmillan 
 Company, by means of which they have been enabled 
 to reprint stories from Hawthorne's " Wonder Book " 
 and " Tanglewood Tales," from " In the Days of 
 Giants," from " Norse Stories," from Church's " Stories 
 from Homer," and from Kingsley's " Greek Heroes."
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 INTRODUCTION . ix 
 
 CHAPTER PAGK 
 
 I. THE THREE GOLDEN APPLES ... 3 
 
 (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book") 
 
 II. THE POMEGRANATE SEEDS ... 27 
 (Hawthorne's " Tanglewood Tales ") 
 
 III. THE CHIMERA 65 
 
 (Hawthorne's " Wonder Book ") 
 
 IV. THE GOLDEN TOUCH .... 92 
 
 (Hawthorne's " Wonder Book ") 
 V. THE GORGON'S HEAD . . . . 112 
 
 (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book") 
 VI. THE DRAGON'S TEETH .... 140 
 
 (Hawthorne's " Tanglewood Tales ") 
 VII. THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER . . . 174 
 
 (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book") 
 
 VIII. THE PARADISE OF CHILDREN ... 197 
 (Hawthorne's "Wonder Book") 
 
 IX. THE CYCLOPS 216 
 
 (Church's " Stories from Homer ") 
 
 X. THE ARGONAUTS 227 
 
 (Kingsley's " Greek Heroes ") 
 
 XI. THE GIANT BUILDER 299 
 
 (" In Days of Giants ") 
 
 XII. How ODIN LOST His EYE ... 308 
 
 ("In Days of Giants") 
 
 XIII. THE QUEST OF THE HAMMER . . . 316 
 
 (" In Days of Giants ") 
 
 XIV. THE APPLES OF IDUN .... 330 
 
 (" Norse Stories ") 
 XV. THE DEATH OF BALDER .... 337 
 
 (" Norse Stories ") 
 
 XVI. THE STAR AND THE LILY .... 348 
 (Miss Emerson's " Indian Myths ")
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 IN many parts of the country when the soil is disturbed 
 arrow heads are found. Now, it is a great many years 
 since arrow heads have been used, and they were never 
 used by the people who own the land in which they appear 
 or by their ancestors. To explain the presence of these 
 roughly cut pieces of stone we must recall the weapons 
 with which the Indians fought when Englishmen, French- 
 men, Dutchmen, and Spaniards first came to this part of 
 the world. There may be no authentic history of Indians 
 in the particular locality in which these old-fashioned 
 weapons come to light, but their presence in the ground 
 is the best kind of evidence that Indians once lived on 
 these fields or were in the habit of hunting over them. 
 In many parts of the country these arrow heads are turned 
 up in great numbers; museums large and small are plenti- 
 fully supplied with them; and they form part of the record 
 of the men who once lived here, and of their ways of killing 
 game and destroying their enemies. Wherever there are 
 arrow heads there have been Indians. 
 
 Among every people and in every language there are 
 found stories, superstitions, traditions, phrases, which 
 are not to be explained by the thoughts or ideas or beliefs 
 of people now living; and the same stories, superstitions, 
 phrases, are found among people as far apart as those of 
 Norway and Australia. The people of to-day tell these 
 stories or remember the superstitions or use the phrases 
 without understanding where they came from or what 
 
 a
 
 x Introduction 
 
 they meant when first used. As the ground in some sec- 
 tions is full of arrow heads that have been buried no one 
 knows how many centuries, so the poetry we read, the 
 music we hear, the stories told us when we are children, 
 have come down from a time in the history of man so early 
 that there are in many cases no other records or remains 
 of it. These stories vary greatly in details; they fit every 
 climate and wear the peculiar dress of every country; but 
 it is easy to see that they are made up of the same mate- 
 rials, and that they describe the same persons or ideas or 
 things whether they are told in Greece or India or Norway 
 or Brittany. Wherever they are found they make it cer- 
 tain that they come from a very remote time and grew out 
 of ideas or feelings and ways of looking at the world which 
 a great many men shared in common in many places. 
 
 When a man sneezes, people still say in some countries, 
 "God bless you." They do not know why they say it; 
 they simply repeat what they heard older people say when 
 they were children, and do not know that every time they 
 use these words they recall the age when people believed 
 that evil spirits could enter into a man, and that when a 
 man sneezed he expelled one of these spirits. It is a very 
 old and widely spread superstition that when a dog howls 
 at night someone not far away is dying or will soon die. 
 Many people are uncomfortable when they hear a dog 
 howling after dark, not because they believe that dogs 
 have any knowledge that death is present or coming, but 
 because their ancestors for many centuries believed that 
 the howling of a dog was ominous, and the habits of our 
 ancestors leave deep traces in our natures. 
 
 Now, every time the melancholy howling of a dog at 
 night makes a child uncomfortable, he recalls the old 
 superstition which identified the roaring or wailing of the
 
 Introduclion xt 
 
 wind with a wolf or dog into which a god or demon had 
 entered, with power to summon the spirits of men to fol- 
 low him as he rushed along in the darkness. In the old 
 homes in the forests, thousands of years ago, children 
 crowded about the open fire and trembled when a great 
 blast shook the house, for fear that the gigantic beast who 
 made the sound would call them and they would be com- 
 pelled to follow him. We think of wind as air 'in motion; 
 they thought of it as the breath and sound of some living 
 creature. When we say that the wind "whistled in the 
 keyhole," or "kissed the flowers," or "drove the clouds" 
 before it, we are using poetically the language our fore- 
 fathers used literally. 
 
 We speak of "the siren voice of pleasure," "the blow 
 of fate," "the smile of fortune," and do not remember, 
 often do not know, that we are recalling that remote past 
 when people believed that there were Sirens on the coast 
 of Crete whose voices were so sweet that sailors could not 
 resist them and were drawn on to the rocks and drowned ; 
 that fate was a terrible, relentless, passionless person with 
 supreme power over gods and men; that fortune was a 
 being who smiled or frowned as men smile or frown, 
 but whose smile meant prosperity and her frown 
 disaster. 
 
 There are few poems which have interested children 
 more than Robert Browning's "Pied Piper of Hamelin." 
 The story runs that long ago, in the year 1284, the old 
 German town of Hamelin was so overrun with rats that 
 there was no peace for the people living in it. When 
 things were at their worst a strange man appeared in the 
 place and offered, for a sum of money, to clear it of these 
 pests. The bargain was made and the stranger began to 
 pipe; and straightway, from every nook and corner in the
 
 xii Introduction 
 
 old town, the rats came in swarms, followed him to the 
 river Weser and jumped in and were drowned. 
 
 When the people found that the city was really free 
 from rats they were ungrateful enough to say that the 
 piper had used magic, which was believed to be the prac- 
 tice of the evil spirit, and refused to carry out their part 
 of the contract. The stranger went off in a great rage 
 and threatened to come back again and take payment in 
 his own way. On St. John's Day, which was a time of 
 great festivity, he suddenly reappeared, blew a new and 
 beguiling air on his pipe, and immediately every child 
 in the city felt as if a hand had seized him and ran pell- 
 mell after the musician as he climbed the mountain, hi 
 which a door suddenly opened, and through that door all, 
 save a lame boy, passed and were never seen again. 
 
 From this old story probably came the proverb about 
 paying the piper; and it is one of many stories which 
 turn on the magical power of a voice or a sound to draw 
 men, women, and children to their doom. These very 
 interesting stories are not like the stories which are made 
 up just to please people and help them pass away the 
 time; they are different forms of one story the story of 
 the wind, told by people who thought that the wind was 
 not what we call a force but a person, and that when he 
 called those who heard must follow if he chose; for "the 
 piper is no other than the wind, and the ancients held that 
 in the wind were the souls of the dead." 
 
 If every time we think of a force we should think of a 
 person, we should see the world as the men and women 
 who made the myths saw it. Everything that moved, or 
 made a sound, or flashed out light, or gave out heat was 
 a person to them; they could not think of the wind rushing 
 through the trees or the storm devastating the fields with-
 
 Introduction xiil 
 
 out imagining someone like themselves, only more power- 
 ful, behind the uproar and destruction, any more than we 
 can see a lantern moving along the road at night without 
 thinking instinctively that somebody is carrying it. 
 
 Our idea of the world is scientific because it is based on 
 exact though by no means complete knowledge; the 
 myth -makers' idea of the world was poetic because, with 
 very incomplete knowledge, they could not imagine how 
 anything could be done unless it was done as they did 
 things. When the black clouds gather on a summer after- 
 noon and roll up the sky in great, terrifying masses, and 
 the lightning flashes from them and the crash of the thun- 
 der fills the air and the rain beats down the crops, we feel 
 as if we were in the laboratory of nature seeing a wonderful 
 experiment made; when our ancestors saw the same spec- 
 tacle they were sure that a great dragon, breathing fire and 
 roaring with anger, was ravaging the earth. As children 
 to-day imagine that dolls are alive, that fairies dance in 
 moonlit meadows on summer nights, or beasts or Indians 
 make the sounds in the woods, so the people who made 
 the myths filled the world with creatures unlike them- 
 selves, but with something of human intelligence, feeling 
 and will. 
 
 As imaginative children personify the sounds they hear, 
 so the men and women of an early time personified every- 
 thing that lived or moved or gave any sign of life. They 
 filled the earth, ah*, and sea with imaginary beings who 
 had power over the elements and affected the lives of 
 men. There were nymphs in the sea, dryads in the trees, 
 kindly or destructive spirits in the air, household gods 
 who watched over the home, and greater gods who man- 
 aged the affairs of the world. When an intelligent man 
 finds himself in new surroundings, he begins at once to
 
 xiv Introduction 
 
 study them and try to understand them. In every age 
 this has been one of the greatest objects of interest to men, 
 and every generation has endeavoured to explain the 
 world, so as to satisfy not only its curiosity but its reason. 
 The myths were explanations of the world created by peo- 
 ple who had not had time to study that world closely nor to 
 train themselves to study it in a scientific way. They saw 
 the world with their imaginations quite as much as with 
 their eyes, and as they put persons behind every kind and 
 form of life, they told stories about the world instead of 
 making accurate and matter-of-fact reports of it. The 
 change of the seasons is not at all mysterious to us; but 
 to the Norsemen it was a wonderful struggle between gods 
 and giants. In the summer the gods had their triumph, 
 but in the winter the giants had their way. Year after 
 year and century after century this terrible warfare went 
 on until a day should come when, in a last great battle, 
 both gods and giants would be destroyed and a new heaven 
 and earth arise. These same brave and warlike men 
 believed that the most powerful fighter among the gods 
 was Thor, and that it was the swinging and crashing 
 of his terrible hammer which made the lightning and 
 thunder. 
 
 The sun, which vanquished the darkness, put out the 
 stars, drove the cold to the far north, called back the 
 flowers, made the fields fertile, awoke men from sleep and 
 filled them with courage and hope, was the centre of 
 mythology, and appears and reappears in a thousand 
 stories in many parts of the world, and in all kinds of dis- 
 guises. Now he is the most beautiful and noble of the 
 Greek gods, Apollo; now he is Odin, with a single eye; 
 now he is Hercules, the hero, with his twelve great labours 
 for the good of men; now he is (Edipus, who met th
 
 Introduction xv 
 
 Sphinx and solved her riddle. In the early times men 
 saw how everything in the world about them drew its 
 strength and beauty from the sun; how the sun warmed 
 the earth and made the crops grow; how it brought glad- 
 ness and hope and inspiration to men; and they made it 
 the centre of the great world story, the foremost hero of 
 the great world play. For the myths form a poetical ex- 
 planation of the earth, the sea, the sky, and of the life of 
 man in this wonderful universe, and each great myth was 
 a chapter in a story which endowed day and night, sum- 
 mer and winter, sun, moon, stars, winds, clouds, fire, with 
 life, and made them actors in the mysterious drama of the 
 world. Our Norse forefathers thought of themselves 
 always as looking on at a terrible fight between the gods, 
 who were light and heat and fruitfulness, revealed in the 
 beauty of day and the splendour of summer, and the 
 giants, who were darkness, cold and barrenness, revealed 
 in the gloom of night and the desolation of winter. To 
 the Norseman, as to the Greek, the Roman, the Hindu 
 and other primitive peoples, the world was the scene of a 
 great struggle, the stage on which gods, demons, and heroes 
 were contending for supremacy; and they told that story 
 in a thousand different ways. Every myth is a chapter 
 in that story, and differs from other stories and legends 
 because it is an explanation of something that happened 
 in earth, sea, or sky. 
 
 If the men who created the myths had set to work to 
 make wonder tales as stories are sometimes made to 
 instruct while they entertain children, they would have 
 left a mass of very dull tales which few people would have 
 cared to read. They had no idea of doing anything so 
 artificial and mechanical; they made these old stories 
 because all life was a story to them, full of splendid or
 
 rvi Introduction 
 
 terrible figures moving across the sky or through the sea 
 and in the depths of the woods, and whichever way they 
 looked they saw or thought they saw mysterious and 
 wonderful things going on. They were as much inter- 
 ested in their world as we are in ours; we write hundreds 
 of scientific books every year to explain our world; they 
 told hundreds of stories every year to explain theirs. 
 
 This selection represents the work of several authors, 
 and does not, therefore, preserve uniformity of style. 
 It is probably better for the young reader that the Greek 
 Myths should come from one hand, and the Norse Myths 
 from another. The classical work of Hawthorne has 
 been generously drawn upon. No change of any kind 
 has been made in the text, but the introductions connect- 
 ing one myth with another have been omitted. 
 
 HAMILTON WEIGHT MABIE.
 
 Myths That Every Child Should Know
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE THREE GOLDEN APPLES 
 
 DID you ever hear of the golden apples that grew 
 in the garden of the Hesperides? Ah, those were such 
 apples as would bring a great price, by the bushel, if 
 any of them could be found growing in the orchards 
 of nowadays! But there is not, I suppose, a graft of 
 that wonderful fruit on a single tree in the wide world. 
 Not so much as a seed of those apples exists any 
 longer. 
 
 And, even in the old, old, half-forgotten times, before 
 the garden of the Hesperides was overrun with weeds, 
 a great many people doubted whether there could be 
 real trees that bore apples of solid gold upon their 
 branches. All had heard of them, but nobody remem- 
 bered to have seen any. Children, nevertheless, used to 
 listen, open-mouthed, to stories of the golden apple tree, 
 and resolved to discover it, when they should be big 
 enough. Adventurous young men, who desired to do 
 a braver thing than any of their fellows, set out in quest 
 of this fruit. Many of them returned no more; none of 
 them brought back the apples. No wonder that they 
 found it impossible to gather them! It is said that there 
 was a dragon beneath the tree, with a hundred terrible 
 
 3
 
 4 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 heads, fifty of which were always on the watch, while the 
 other fifty slept. 
 
 In my opinion it was hardly worth running so much 
 risk for the sake of a solid golden apple. Had the 
 apples been sweet, mellow, and juicy, indeed that would 
 be another matter. There might then have been some 
 sense in trying to get at them, in spite of the hundred- 
 headed dragon. 
 
 But, as I have already told you, it was quite a common 
 thing with young persons, when tired of too much peace 
 and rest, to go in search of the garden of the Hesperides. 
 And once the adventure was undertaken by a hero who 
 had enjoyed very little peace or rest since he came into 
 the world. At the time of which I am going to speak, he 
 was wandering through the pleasant land of Italy, with 
 a mighty club in his hand, and a bow and quiver slung 
 across his shoulders. He was wrapt in the skin of the 
 biggest and fiercest lion that ever had been seen, and 
 which he himself had killed; and though, on the whole, he 
 was kind, and generous, and noble, there was a good deal 
 of the lion's fierceness in his heart. As he went on his 
 way, he continually inquired whether that were the 
 right road to the famous garden. But none of the country 
 people knew anything about the matter, and many 
 looked as if they would have laughed at the question, if 
 the stranger had not carried so very big a club. 
 
 So he journeyed on and on, still making the same 
 inquiry, until, at last, he came to the brink of a river 
 where some beautiful young women sat twining wreaths 
 of flowers. 
 
 "Can you tell me, pretty maidens," asked the stran- 
 ger, "whether this is the right way to the garden of the 
 Hesperides ? "
 
 The Three Golden Apples 5 
 
 The young women had been having a fine time together, 
 weaving the flowers into wreaths, and crowning one 
 another's heads. And there seemed to be a kind of magic 
 in the touch of their fingers, that made the flowers more 
 fresh and dewy, and of brighter hues, and sweeter 
 fragrance, while they played with them, than even when 
 they had been growing on their native stems. But, on 
 hearing the stranger's question, they dropped all their 
 flowers on the grass, and gazed at him with astonishment. 
 
 "The garden of the Hesperides!" cried one. "We 
 thought mortals had been weary of seeking it, after so 
 many disappointments. And pray, adventurous traveller, 
 what do you want there?" 
 
 "A certain king, who is my cousin," replied he, "has 
 ordered me to get him three of the golden apples." 
 
 "Most of the young men who go in quest of these 
 apples," observed another of the damsels, "desire to 
 obtain them for themselves, or to present them to some 
 fair maiden whom they love. Do you, then, love this 
 king, your cousin, so very much?" 
 
 "Perhaps not," replied the stranger, sighing. "He 
 has often been severe and cruel to me. But it is my 
 destiny to obey him." 
 
 "And do you know," asked the damsel who had first 
 spoken, "that a terrible dragon, with a hundred heads, 
 keeps watch under the golden apple tree?" 
 
 "I know it well," answered the stranger, calmly. 
 "But, from my cradle upward, it has been my business, 
 and almost my pastime, to deal with serpents and 
 dragons." 
 
 The young women looked at his massive dub, and 
 at the shaggy lion's skin which he wore, and likewise 
 at his heroic limbs and figure; and they whispered to
 
 6 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 each other that the stranger appeared to be one who 
 might reasonably expect to perform deeds far beyond 
 the might of other men. But, then, the dragon with a 
 hundred heads! What mortal, even if he possessed a 
 hundred lives, could hope to escape the fangs of such 
 a monster? So kind-hearted were the maidens that 
 they could not bear to see this brave and handsome 
 traveller attempt what was so very dangerous, and 
 devote himself, most probably, to become a meal for the 
 dragon's hundred ravenous mouths. 
 
 "Go back," cried they all "go back to your own 
 home! Your mother, beholding you safe and sound, 
 will shed tears of joy; and what can she do more, should 
 you win ever so great a victory? No matter for the 
 golden apples! No matter for the king, your cruel 
 cousin! We do not wish the dragon with the hundred 
 heads to eat vou up!" 
 
 The stranger seemed to grow impatient at these re- 
 monstrances. He carelessly lifted his mighty club, and 
 let it fall upon a rock that lay half buried in the earth, neat 
 by. With the force of that idle blow, the great rock 
 was shattered all to pieces. It cost the stranger no more 
 effort to achieve this feat of a giant's strength than for 
 one of the young maidens to touch her sister's rosy 
 cheek with a flower. 
 
 "Do you not believe," said he, looking at the damsels 
 with a smile, "that such a blow would have crushed one 
 of the dragon's hundred heads?" 
 
 Then he sat down on the grass, and told them the 
 story of his life, or as much of it as he could remember, 
 from the day when he was first cradled in a warrior's 
 brazen shield. While he lay there, two immense serpents 
 tame gliding over the floor, and opened their hideous
 
 The Three Golden Apples 7 
 
 Jaws to devour him; and he, a baby of a few months 
 old, had griped one of the fierce snakes in each of his 
 little fists, and strangled them to death. When he was 
 but a stripling, he had killed a huge lion, almost as big 
 as the one whose vast and shaggy hide he now wore upon 
 his shoulders. The next thing that he had done was to 
 fight a battle with an ugly sort of monster, called a hydra, 
 which had no less than nine heads, and exceedingly sharp 
 teeth in every one. 
 
 "But the dragon of the Hesperides, you know," 
 observed one of the damsels, "has a hundred heads!" 
 
 "Nevertheless," replied the stranger, "I would rather 
 fight two such dragons than a single hydra. For, as 
 fast as I cut off a head, two others grew in its place; and, 
 besides, there was one of the heads that could not possibly 
 be killed, but kept biting as fiercely as ever, long after 
 it was cut off. So I was forced to bury it under a stone, 
 where it is doubtless alive to this very day. But the 
 hydra's body, and its eight other heads, will never do any 
 further mischief." 
 
 The damsels, judging that the story was likely to last 
 a good while, had been preparing a repast of bread and 
 grapes, that the stranger might refresh himself in the 
 intervals of his talk. They took pleasure in helping 
 him to this simple food; and, now and then, one of 
 them would put a sweet grape between her rosy lips, lest 
 it should make him bashful to eat alone. 
 
 The traveller proceeded to tell how he had chased a 
 very swift stag for a twelvemonth together, without 
 ever stopping to take breath, and had at last caught it 
 by the antlers, and carried it home alive. And he had 
 fought with a very odd race of people, half horses and 
 half men, and had put them all to death, from a sense
 
 8 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 of duty, in order that their ugly figures might never 
 be seen any more. Besides all this, he took to himself 
 great credit for having cleaned out a stable. 
 
 "Do you call that a wonderful exploit?" asked one 
 of the young maidens, with a smile. "Any clown in 
 the country has done as much!" 
 
 "Had it been an ordinary stable," replied the stranger, 
 "I should not have mentioned it. But this was so 
 gigantic a task that it .would have taken me all my 
 life to perform it, if I had not luckily thought of turning 
 the channel of a river through the stable door. That 
 did the business in a very short tune!" 
 
 Seeing how earnestly his fair auditors listened, he 
 next told them how he had shot some monstrous birds, 
 and had caught a wild bull alive and let him go again, 
 and had tamed a number of very wild horses, and had 
 conquered Hippolyta, the warlike queen of the Amazons. 
 He mentioned, likewise, that he had taken off Hippolyta's 
 enchanted girdle and had given it to the daughter of his 
 cousin, the king. 
 
 "Was it the girdle of Venus," inquired the prettiest 
 of the damsels, "which makes women beautiful?" 
 
 "No," answered the stranger. "It had formerly 
 been the sword belt of Mars; and it can only make the 
 wearer valiant and courageous." 
 
 "An old sword belt'" cried the damsel, tossing her 
 head. "Then I should not care about having it!" 
 
 "You are right," said the stranger. 
 
 Going on with his wonderful narrative, he informed 
 the maidens that as strange an adventure as ever hap- 
 pened was when he fought with Geryon, the six-legged 
 man. This was a very odd and frightful sort of figure, 
 as you may well believe. Any person, looking at his
 
 The Three Golden Apples 9 
 
 tracks In the sand or snow, would suppose that three 
 sociable companions had been walking along together. 
 On hearing his footsteps at a little distance, it was 
 no more than reasonable to judge that several people 
 must be coming. But it was only the strange man 
 Geryon clattering onward, with his six legs! 
 
 Six legs, and one gigantic body! Certainly, he must 
 have been a very queer monster to look at; and, my 
 stars, what a waste of shoe leather! 
 
 When the stranger had finished the story of his ad- 
 ventures, he looked around at the attentive faces of 
 the maidens. 
 
 "Perhaps you may have heard of me before," said 
 he, modestly. "My name is Hercules!" 
 
 "We had already guessed it," replied the maidens; 
 "for your wonderful deeds are known all over the world. 
 We do not think it strange, any longer, that you should 
 set out in quest of the golden apples of the Hesperides. 
 Come, sisters, let us crown the hero with flowers!" 
 
 Then they flung beautiful wreaths over his stately 
 head and mighty shoulders, so that the lion's skin was 
 almost entirely covered with roses. They took posses- 
 sion of his ponderous club, and so entwined it about 
 with the brightest, softest, and most fragrant blossoms 
 that not a finger's breadth of its oaken substance could 
 be seen. It looked all like a huge bunch of flowers. 
 Lastly, they joined hands, and danced around him, 
 chanting words which became poetry of their own 
 accord, and grew into a choral song, in honour of the 
 illustrious Hercules. 
 
 And Hercules was rejoiced, as any other hero would 
 have been, to know that these fair young girls had heard 
 of the valiant deeds which it had cost him so much toil
 
 xo Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 and danger to achieve. But still he was not satisfied 
 He could not think that what he had already done was 
 worthy of so much honour, while there remained any 
 bold or difficult adventure to be undertaken. 
 
 "Dear maidens," said he, when they paused to take 
 breath, "now that you know my name, will you not 
 tell me how I am to reach the garden of the Hesperides ? " 
 
 "Ah! must you go to soon ? " they exclaimed. "You 
 that have performed so many wonders, and spent such 
 a toilsome life cannot you content yourself to repose a 
 little while on the margin of this peaceful river?" 
 
 Hercules shook his head. 
 
 "I must depart now," said he. 
 
 "We will then give you the best directions we can," 
 replied the damsels. "You must go to the seashore, 
 and find out the Old One, and compel him to inform you 
 where the golden apples are to be found." 
 
 "The Old One!" repeated Hercules, laughing at this 
 odd name. "And, pray, who may the Old One be?" 
 
 "Why, the Old Man of the Sea, to be sure!" answered 
 one of the damsels. "He has fifty daughters, whom 
 some people call very beautiful; but we do not think it 
 proper to be acquainted with them, because they have 
 sea-green hair, and taper away like fishes. You must 
 talk with this Old Man of the Sea. He is a seafaring 
 person, and knows all about the garden of the Hesperides, 
 for it is situated in an island which he is often in the 
 habit of visiting." 
 
 Hercules then asked whereabouts the Old One was 
 most likely to be met with. When the damsels had 
 informed him, he thanked them for all their kindness, 
 for the bread and grapes with which they had fed 
 him, the lovely flowers with which they had crowned
 
 The Three Golden Apples xi 
 
 him, and the songs and dances wherewith they had 
 done him honour and he thanked them, most of all, 
 for telling him the right way and immediately set 
 forth upon his journey. 
 
 But, before he was out of hearing, one of the maidens 
 called after him. 
 
 "Keep fast hold of the Old One, when you catch 
 himi" cried she, smiling, and lifting her finger to make 
 the caution more impressive. "Do not be astonished 
 at anything that may happen. Only hold him fast, and 
 he will tell you what you wish to know." 
 
 Hercules again thanked her, and pursued his way, 
 while the maidens resumed then* pleasant labour of 
 making flower wreaths. They talked about the hero 
 long after he was gone. 
 
 "We will crown him with the loveliest of our gar- 
 lands," said they, "when he returns hither with the 
 three golden apples, after slaying the dragon with a 
 hundred heads." 
 
 Meanwhile, Hercules travelled constantly onward, 
 over hill and dale, and through the solitary woods. 
 Sometimes he swung his club aloft, and splintered a 
 mighty oak with a downright blow. His mind was so 
 full of the giants and monsters with whom it was the 
 business of his life to fight, that perhaps he mistook 
 the great tree for a giant or a monster. And so eager 
 was Hercules to achieve what he had undertaken, that 
 he almost regretted to have spent so much time with 
 the damsels, wasting idle breath upon the story of his 
 adventures. But thus it always is with persons who are 
 destined to perform great things. What they have already 
 done seems less than nothing. What they have taken in 
 hand to do seems worth toil, danger, and life itself.
 
 19 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Persons who happened to be passing through the 
 forest must have been affrighted to see him smite the 
 trees with his great club. With but a single blow, the 
 trunk was riven as by the stroke of lightning and the 
 broad boughs came rustling and crashing down. 
 
 Hastening forward, without ever pausing or looking 
 behind, he by and by heard the sea roaring at a distance. 
 At this sound, he increased his speed, and soon came to 
 a beach, where the great surf waves tumbled themselves 
 upon the hard sand, in a long line of snowy foam. At 
 one end of the beach, however, there was a pleasant spot, 
 where some green shrubbery clambered up a cliff, making 
 its rocky face look soft and beautiful. A carpet of verdant 
 grass, largely intermixed with sweet-smelling clover, 
 covered the narrow space between the bottom of the cliff 
 and the sea. And what should Hercules espy there but 
 an old man, fast asleep! 
 
 But was it really and truly an old man? Certainly, 
 at first sight, it looked very like one; but, on closer 
 inspection, it rather seemed to be some kind of a creature 
 that lived in the sea. For on his legs and arms there 
 were scales, such as fishes have; he was web-footed and 
 web-fingered, after the fashion of a duck; and his long 
 beard, being of a greenish tinge, had more the appearance 
 of a tuft of seaweed than of an ordinary beard. Have 
 you never seen a stick of timber, that has been long tossed 
 about by the waves, and has got all overgrown with 
 barnacles, and, at last drifting ashore, seems to have 
 been thrown up from the very deepest bottom of the sea. 
 Well, the old man would have put you in mind of just such 
 a wave-tossed spar! But Hercules, the instant he set eyes 
 on this strange figure, was convinced that it could be no 
 other than the Old One,who was to direct him on his way.
 
 The Three Golden Apples 13 
 
 Yes, it was the selfsame Old Man of the Sea whom 
 the hospitable maidens had talked to him about. Thank- 
 ing his stars for the lucky accident of finding the old 
 fellow asleep, Hercules stole on tiptoe toward him, and 
 caught him by the arm and leg. 
 
 "Tell me,"cried he,beforethe Old One was well awake, 
 "which is the way to the garden of the Hesperides?" 
 
 As you may easily imagine, the Old Man of the Sea 
 awoke in a fright. But his astonishment could hardly 
 have been greater than was that of Hercules, the next 
 moment. For, all of a sudden, the Old One seemed to 
 disappear out of his grasp, and he found himself holding 
 a stag by the fore and hind leg! But still he kept fast 
 hold. Then the stag disappeared, and in its stead there 
 was a sea bird, fluttering and screaming, while Hercules 
 clutched it by the wing and claw! But the bird could 
 not get away. Immediately afterward, there was an 
 ugly three-headed dog, which growled and barked at 
 Hercules, and snapped fiercely at the hands by which he 
 held him I But Hercules would not let him go. In 
 another minute, instead of the three-headed dog, what 
 should appear but Geryon, the six-legged man monster, 
 kicking at Hercules with five of his legs, in order to get the 
 remaining one at liberty! But Hercules held on. By 
 and by, no Geryon was there, but a huge snake, like 
 one of those which Hercules had strangled in his baby- 
 hood, only a hundred times as big; and it twisted and 
 twined about the hero's neck and body, and threw its 
 tail high into the air, and opened its deadly jaws as if 
 to devour him outright; so that it was really a very 
 terrible spectacle! But Hercules was no whit disheart- 
 ened, and squeezed the great snake so tightly that he 
 soon began to hiss with pain.
 
 14 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 You must understand that the Old Man of the Sea, 
 though he generally looked so much like the wave- 
 beaten figurehead of a vessel, had the power of assum- 
 ing any shape he pleased. When he found himself 
 so roughly seized by Hercules, he had been in hopes of 
 putting him into such surprise and terror, by these 
 magical transformations, that the hero would be glad 
 to let him go. If Hercules had relaxed his grasp, the 
 Old One would certainly have plunged down to the 
 very bottom of the sea, whence he would not soon have 
 given himself the trouble of coming up, in order to answer 
 any impertinent questions. Ninety-nine people out of 
 a hundred, I suppose, would have been frightened out 
 of their wits by the very first of his ugly shapes, and 
 would have taken to their heels at once. For one of 
 the hardest things in this world is to see the difference 
 between real dangers and imaginary ones. 
 
 But, as Hercules held on so stubbornly, and only 
 squeezed the Old One so much the tighter at every change 
 of shape, and really put him to no small torture, he 
 finally thought it best to reappear in his own figure. So 
 there he was again, a fishy, scaly, web-footed sort of 
 personage, with something like a tuft of seaweed at his 
 chin. 
 
 "Pray, what do you want with me?" cried the Old 
 One, as soon as he could take breath; for it is quite a 
 tiresome affair to go through so many false shapes. 
 "Why do you squeeze me so hard? Let me go this 
 moment, or I shall begin to consider you an extremely 
 uncivil person!" 
 
 "My name is Hercules!" roared the mighty stranger. 
 " And you will never get out of my clutch until you teD 
 aie the nearest way to the garden of the Hesperidest*
 
 The Three Golden Apples 1$ 
 
 When the old fellow heard who it was that had caught 
 him, he saw with half an eye that it would be necessary 
 to tell him everything that he wanted to know. The 
 Old One was an inhabitant of the sea, you must recol- 
 lect, and roamed about everywhere, like other sea- 
 faring people. Of course, he had often heard of the 
 fame of Hercules, and of the wonderful things that he 
 was constantly performing in various parts of the earth, 
 and how determined he always was to accomplish what- 
 ever he undertook. He therefore made no more attempts 
 to escape, but told the hero how to find the garden of 
 the Hesperides, and likewise warned him of many 
 difficulties which must be overcome before he could 
 arrive thither. 
 
 "You must go on, thus and thus," said the Old 
 Man of the Sea, after taking the points of the com- 
 pass, "till you come in sight of a very tall giant, who 
 holds the sky on his shoulders. And the giant, if he 
 happens to be in the humour, will tell you exactly where 
 the garden of the Hesperides lies." 
 
 "And if the giant happens not to be in the humour," 
 remarked Hercules, balancing his club on the tip of 
 his finger, "perhaps I shall find means to persuade 
 him!" 
 
 Thanking the Old Man of the Sea, and begging his 
 pardon for having squeezed him so roughly, the hero 
 resumed his journey. He met with a great many strange 
 adventures, which would be well worth your hearing, 
 if I had leisure to narrate them as minutely as they 
 deserve. 
 
 It was in this journey, if I mistake not, that he en- 
 countered a prodigious giant, who was so wonderfully 
 contrived by nature that, every time he touched the
 
 it Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 earth, he became ten times as strong as ever he had 
 been before. His name was Antaeus. You may see, 
 plainly enough, that it was a very difficult business 
 to fight with such a fellow; for, as often as he got a 
 knock-down blow, up he started again, stronger, fiercer, 
 and abler to use his weapons than if his enemy had 
 let him alone. Thus, the harder Hercules pounded 
 the giant with his club, the further he seemed from 
 whining the victory. I have sometimes argued with 
 such people, but never fought with one. The only 
 way in which Hercules found it possible to finish the 
 battle was by lifting Antaeus off his feet into the air, 
 and squeezing, and squeezing, and squeezing him until, 
 finally, the strength was quite squeezed out of his enor- 
 mous body. 
 
 When this affair was finished, Hercules continued his 
 travels, and went to the land of Egypt, where he was 
 taken prisoner, and would have been put to death if 
 he had not slain the king of the country and made his 
 escape. Passing through the deserts of Africa, and 
 going as fast as he could, he arrived at last on the shore 
 of the great ocean. And here, unless he could walk 
 on the crests of the billows, it seemed as if his journey 
 must needs be at an end. 
 
 Nothing was before him, save the foaming, dashing, 
 measureless ocean. But, suddenly, as he looked toward 
 the horizon, he saw something, a great way off, which 
 he had not seen the moment before. It gleamed very 
 brightly, almost as you may have beheld the round, 
 golden disc of the sun, when it rises or sets over the 
 edge of the world. It evidently drew nearer; for, 
 at every instant, this wonderful object became larger 
 and more lustrous. At length, it bad come so nigh
 
 The Three Golden Apples 17 
 
 that Hercules discovered it to be an immense cup or 
 bowl, made either of gold or burnished brass. How 
 it had got afloat upon the sea is more than I can tell 
 you. There it was, at all events, rolling on the tumultu- 
 ous billows, which tossed it up and down, and heaved 
 their foamy tops against its sides, but without ever 
 throwing their spray over the brim. 
 
 "I have seen many giants, in my time," thought 
 Hercules, "but never one that would need to drink 
 his wine out of a cup like this!" 
 
 And, true enough, what a cup it must have been! 
 It was as large as large but, in short, I am afraid 
 to say how immeasurably large it was. To speak 
 within bounds, it was ten times larger than a great 
 mill wheel; and, all of metal as it was, it floated over 
 the heaving surges more lightly than an acorn cup 
 adown the brook. The waves tumbled it onward, until 
 it grazed against the shore, within a short distance of 
 the spot where Hercules was standing. 
 
 As soon as this happened, he knew what was to be 
 done; for he had not gone through so many remark- 
 able adventures without learning pretty well how to 
 conduct himself, whenever anything came to pass a 
 little out of the common rule. It was just as clear as 
 daylight that this marvellous cup had been set adrift 
 by some unseen power, and guided hitherward, in 
 order to carry Hercules across the sea, on his way to 
 the garden of the Hesperides. Accordingly, without 
 a moment's delay, he clambered over the brim, and 
 slid down on the inside, where, spreading out his lion's 
 skin, he proceeded to take a little repose. He had 
 scarcely rested, until now, since he bade farewell to 
 the damsels on the margin of the river. The waves
 
 1 8 Myths Every Child Should Ktww 
 
 dashed, with a pleasant and ringing sound, against the 
 circumference of the hollow cup; it rocked lightly to 
 and fro, and the motion was so soothing that it speed- 
 ily rocked Hercules into an agreeable slumber. 
 
 His nap had probably lasted a good while, when 
 the cup chanced to graze against a rock, and, in con- 
 sequence, immediately resounded and reverberated 
 through its golden or brazen substance, a hundred 
 times as loudly as ever you heard a church bell. The 
 noise awoke Hercules, who instantly started up and 
 gazed around him, wondering whereabouts he was. 
 He was not long in discovering that the cup had floated 
 across a great part of the sea, and was approaching 
 the shore of what seemed to be an island. And, on 
 that island, what do you think he saw? 
 
 No; you will never guess it, not if you were to try 
 fifty thousand times I It positively appears to me that 
 this was the most marvellous spectacle that had ever been 
 seen by Hercules in the whole course of his wonderful 
 travels and adventures. It was a greater marvel than 
 the hydra with nine heads, which kept growing twice 
 as fast as they were cut off; greater than the six-legged 
 man monster; greater than Antaeus; greater than any- 
 thing that was ever beheld by anybody, before or since 
 the days of Hercules, or than anything that remains to 
 be beheld by travellers in all time to come. It was a 
 giant! 
 
 But such an intolerably big giant! A giant as tall 
 as a mountain; so vast a giant that the clouds rested 
 about his midst, like a girdle, and hung like a hoary 
 beard from his chin, and flitted before his huge eyes, 
 so that he could neither see Hercules nor the golden 
 cup in which he was voyaging. And, most wonderful
 
 The Three Golden Apples 19 
 
 of all, the giant held up his great hands and appeared 
 to support the sky, which, so far as Hercules could 
 discern through the clouds, was resting upon his head! 
 This does really seem almost too much to believe. 
 
 Meanwhile, the bright cup continued to float onward, 
 and finally touched the strand. Just then a breeze wafted 
 away the clouds from before the giant's visage, and 
 Hercules beheld it, with all its enormous features; eyes 
 each of them as big as yonder lake, a nose a mile long, 
 and a mouth of the same width. It was a countenance 
 terrible from its enormity of size, but disconsolate and 
 weary, even as you may see the faces of many people, 
 nowadays, who are compelled to sustain burdens above 
 their strength. What the sky was to the giant, such 
 are the cares of earth to those who let themselves be 
 weighed down by them. And whenever men undertake 
 what is beyond the just measure of their abilities, they 
 encounter precisely such a doom as had befallen this poor 
 giant. 
 
 Poor fellow! He had evidently stood there a long 
 while. An ancient forest had been growing and decay- 
 ing around his feet; and oak trees, of six or seven cen- 
 turies old, had sprung from the acorn, and forced them- 
 selves between his toes. 
 
 The giant now looked down from the far height of 
 his great eyes, and, perceiving Hercules, roared out, hi 
 a voice that resembled thunder, proceeding out of the 
 cloud that had just flitted away from his face. 
 
 "Who are you, down at my feet there? And whence 
 do you come in that little cup?" 
 
 "I am Hercules!" thundered back the hero, in a 
 voice pretty nearly or quite as loud as the giant's own. 
 "And I am seeking for the garden of the Hesperidesl"
 
 zo Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "Ho! ho! ho!" roared the giant, in a fit of immense 
 laughter. "That is a wise adventure, truly!" 
 
 "And why not?" cried Hercules, getting a little angry 
 at the giant's mirth. "Do you think I am afraid of the 
 dragon with a hundred heads!" 
 
 Just at this time, while they were talking together, 
 some black clouds gathered about the giant's middle, 
 and burst into a tremendous storm of thunder and light- 
 ning, causing such a pother that Hercules found it 
 impossible to distinguish a word. Only the giant's 
 immeasurable legs were to be seen, standing up into 
 the obscurity of the tempest; and, now and then, a 
 momentary glimpse of his whole figure, mantled in a 
 volume of mist. He seemed to be speaking, most of 
 the time; but his big, deep, rough voice chimed in with 
 the reverberations of the thunder claps, and rolled away 
 over the hills, like them. Thus, by talking out of season, 
 the foolish giant expended an incalculable quantity of 
 breath to no purpose; for the thunder spoke quite as 
 intelligibly as he. 
 
 At last, the storm swept over as suddenly as it had 
 come. And there again was the clear sky, and the 
 weary giant holding it up, and the pleasant sunshine 
 beaming over his vast height, and illuminating it against 
 the background of the sullen thunder clouds. So far 
 above the shower had been his head, that not a hair of 
 it was moistened by the rain-drops? 
 
 When the giant could see Hercules still standing on 
 the seashore, he roared out to him anew. 
 
 "I am Atlas, the mightiest giant in the world! And 
 I hold the sky upon my head!" 
 
 "So I see," answered Hercules. "But, can you 
 show me the way to the garden of the Hesperides?"
 
 The Three Golden Apples 21 
 
 "What do you want there?" asked the giant. 
 
 "I want three of the golden apples," shouted Hercules, 
 "for my cousin, the king." 
 
 "There is nobody but myself," quoth the giant, 
 "that can go to the garden of the Hesperides, and gather 
 the golden apples. If it were not for this little business 
 of holding up the sky, I would make half a dozen steps 
 across the sea and get them for you." 
 
 "You are very kind," replied Hercules. "And can- 
 not you rest the sky upon a mountain?" 
 
 "None of them are quite high enough," said Atlas, 
 shaking his head. "But if you were to take your stand 
 on the summit of that nearest one, your head would be 
 pretty nearly on a level with mine. You seem to be a 
 fellow of some strength. What if you should take my bur- 
 den on your shoulders, while I do your errand for you ? " 
 
 Hercules, as you must be careful to remember, was 
 a remarkably strong man; and though it certainly re- 
 quires a great deal of muscular power to uphold the 
 sky, yet, if any mortal could be supposed capable of 
 such an exploit, he was the one. Nevertheless, it seemed 
 so difficult an undertaking that, for the first time in his 
 life, he hesitated. 
 
 "Is the sky very heavy?" he inquired. 
 
 "Why, not particularly so, at first," answered the 
 giant, shrugging his shoulders. "But it gets to be a 
 little burdensome after a thousand years!" 
 
 "And how long a time," asked the hero, "will it take 
 you to get the golden apples?" 
 
 "Oh, that will be done in a few moments," cried 
 Atlas. "I shall take ten or fifteen miles at a stride, and 
 be at the garden and back again before your shoulders 
 begin to ache."
 
 22 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "Well, then," answered Hercules, "I will climb the 
 mountain behind you there and relieve you of your 
 burden." 
 
 The truth is, Hercules had a kind heart of his own, 
 and considered that he should be doing the giant a 
 favour by allowing him this opportunity for a ramble. 
 And, besides, he thought that it would be still more 
 for his own glory if he could boast of upholding the 
 sky, than merely to do so ordinary a thing as to con- 
 quer a dragon with a hundred heads. Accordingly, 
 without more words, the sky was shifted from the shoul- 
 ders of Atlas and placed upon those of Hercules. 
 
 When this was safely accomplished, the first thing 
 that the giant did was to stretch himself; and you may 
 imagine what a prodigious spectacle he was then. Next, 
 he slowly lifted one of his feet out of the forest that had 
 grown up around it; then, the other. Then, all at once, 
 he began to caper, and leap, and dance for joy at his 
 freedom; flinging himself nobody knows how high into 
 the air, and floundering down again with a shock that 
 made the earth tremble. Then he laughed Ho! ho! 
 ho! with a thunderous roar that was echoed from the 
 mountains, far and near, as if they and the giant had 
 been so many rejoicing brothers. When his joy had a 
 little subsided, he stepped into the sea; ten miles at the 
 first stride, which brought him midleg deep; and ten 
 miles at the second, when the water came just above 
 his knees; and ten miles more at the third, by which he 
 was immersed nearly to his waist. This was the great- 
 est depth of the sea. 
 
 Hercules watched the giant as he still went onward; 
 for it was really a wonderful sight, this immense human 
 form, more than thirty miles off, half hidden in the
 
 The Three Golden Apples 33 
 
 ocean, but with his upper half as tall, and misty, and 
 blue as a distant mountain. At last the gigantic shape 
 faded entirely out of view. And now Hercules began 
 to consider what he should do in case Atlas should be 
 drowned in the sea, or if he were to be stung to death 
 by the dragon with the hundred heads, which guarded 
 the golden apples of the Hesperides. If any such mis- 
 fortune were to happen, how could he ever get rid of the 
 sky? And, by the by, its weight began already to be 
 a little irksome to his head and shoulders. 
 
 "I really pity the poor giant," thought Hercules. "If 
 it wearies me so much in ten minutes, how must it have 
 wearied him in a thousand years!" 
 
 O my sweet little people, you have no idea what a 
 weight there was in that same blue sky, which looks 
 so soft and aerial above our heads! And there, too, 
 was the bluster of the wind, and the chill and watery 
 clouds, and the blazing sun, all taking their turns to 
 make Hercules uncomfortable! He began to be afraid 
 that the giant would never come back. He gazed 
 wistfully at the world beneath him, and acknowledged 
 to himself that it was a far happier kind of life to be 
 a shepherd at the foot of a mountain than to stand on 
 its dizzy summit and bear up the firmament with his 
 might and main. For, of course, as you will easily 
 understand, Hercules had an immense responsibility 
 on his mind, as well as a weight on his head and shoul- 
 ders. Why, if he did not stand perfectly still, and keep 
 the sky immovable, the sun would perhaps be put ajar! 
 Or, after nightfall, a great many of the stars might be 
 loosened from their places, and shower down, like fiery 
 rain, upon the people's heads! And how ashamed would 
 the hero be if, owing to his unsteadiness beneath its
 
 t4 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 weight, the sky should crack and show a great fissure 
 quite across it! 
 
 I know not how long it was before, to his unspeak- 
 able joy, he beheld the huge shape of the giant, like a 
 cloud, on the far-off edge of the sea. At his nearer 
 approach, Atlas held up his hand, in which Hercules 
 could perceive three magnificent golden apples, as big 
 as pumpkins, all hanging from one branch. 
 
 "I am glad to see you again," shouted Hercules, 
 when the giant was within hearing. "So you have got 
 the golden apples ? " 
 
 "Certainly, certainly," answered Atlas; "and very 
 fair apples they are. I took the finest that grew on 
 the tree, I assure you. Ah! it is a beautiful spot, that 
 garden of Hesperides. Yes; and the dragon with a 
 hundred heads is a sight worth any man's seeing. After 
 all, you had better have gone for the apples yourself." 
 
 "No matter," replied Hercules. "You have had a 
 pleasant ramble, and have done the business as well as 
 I could. I heartily thank you for your trouble. And 
 now, as I have a long way to go, and am rather in haste 
 and as the king, my cousin, is anxious to receive the 
 golden apples will you be kind enough to take the sky 
 off my shoulders again?" 
 
 "Why, as to that," said the giant, chucking the golden 
 apples into the air twenty miles high, or thereabouts and 
 catching them as they came down "as to that, my good 
 friend, I consider you a little unreasonable. Cannot I 
 carry the golden apples to the king, your cousin, much 
 quicker than ycu could? As His Majesty is in such a 
 hurry to get them, I promise you to take my longest 
 strides. And, besides, I have no fancy for burdening 
 myself with the sky, just now."
 
 The Three Golden Apples 25 
 
 Here Hercules grew impatient, and gave a great shrug 
 of his shoulders. It being now twilight, you might have 
 seen two or three stars tumble out of their places. Every- 
 body on earth looked upward in affright, thinking that 
 the sky might be going to fall next. 
 
 "Oh, that will never do!" cried Giant Atlas, with a 
 great roar of laughter. "I have not let fall so many stars 
 within the last five centuries. By the time you have stood 
 there as long as I did, you will begin to learn patience!" 
 
 "What!" shouted Hercules, very wrathfully, "do you 
 intend to make me bear this burden forever?" 
 
 "We will see about that, one of these days," answered 
 the giant. "At all events, you ought not to complain if 
 you have to bear it the next hundred years, or perhaps 
 the next thousand. I bore it a good while longer, in 
 spite of the backache. Well, then, after a thousand years, 
 if I happen to feel in the mood, we may possibly shift 
 about again. You are certainly a very strong man, and 
 can never have a better opportunity to prove it. Pos- 
 terity will talk of you, I warrant it I" 
 
 "Pish! a fig for its talk!" cried Hercules, with another 
 hitch of his shoulders. "Just take the sky upon your 
 head one instant, will you? I want to make a cushion 
 of my lion's skin, for the weight to rest upon. It really 
 chafes me, and will cause unnecessary inconvenience in 
 so many centuries as I am to stand here." 
 
 "That's no more than fair, and I'll do it!" quoth the 
 giant; for he had no unkind feeling toward Hercules, 
 and was merely acting with a too selfish consideration 
 of his own ease. "For just five minutes, then, I'll take 
 back the sky. Only for five minutes, recollect! I have 
 no idea of spending another thousand years as I spent 
 the last. Variety is the spice of life, say I."
 
 a6 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Ah, the thick-witted old rogue of a giant I He threw 
 down the golden apples, and received back the sky from 
 the head and shoulders of Hercules, upon his own, where 
 it rightly belonged. And Hercules picked up the three 
 golden apples, that were as big or bigger than pumpkins 
 and straightway set out on his journey homeward, with- 
 out paying the slightest heed to the thundering tones of 
 the giant, who bellowed after him to come back. Another 
 forest sprang up around his feet, and grew ancient there; 
 and again might be seen oak trees, of six or seven centuries 
 old, that had waxed thus aged betwixt his enormous toes. 
 
 And there stands the giant to this day; or, at any rate, 
 there stands a mountain as tall as he, and which bears his 
 name; and when the thunder rumbles about its summit 
 we may imagine it to be the voice of Giant Atlas, bellowing 
 after Hercules!
 
 CHAPTER H 
 
 THE POMEGRANATE SEEDS 
 
 MOTHER CERES was exceedingly fond of her daughter 
 Proserpina, and seldom let her go alone into the fields. 
 But, just at the time when my story begins, the good lady 
 was very busy, because she had the care of the wheat, 
 and the Indian corn, and the rye and barley, and, in 
 short, of the crops of every kind, all over the earth; and 
 as the season had thus far been uncommonly backward, 
 it was necessary to make the harvest ripen more speedily 
 than usual. So she put on her turban, made of poppies 
 (a kind of flower which she was always noted for wearing) 
 and got into her car drawn by a pair of winged dragons, 
 and was just ready to set off. 
 
 "Dear mother," said Proserpina, "I shall be very 
 lonely while you are away. May I not run down to the 
 shore, and ask some of the sea nymphs to come up out of 
 the waves and play with me?" 
 
 "Yes, child," answered Mother Ceres. "The sea 
 nymphs are good creatures, and will never lead you into 
 any harm. But you must take care not to stray away 
 from them, nor go wandering about the fields by your- 
 self. Young girls, without their mothers to take care of 
 them, are very apt to get into mischief." 
 
 The child promised to be as prudent as if she were a 
 grown-up woman, and, by the time the winged dragons 
 had whirled the car out of sight, she was already on the 
 
 87
 
 28 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 shore, calling to the sea nymphs to come and play with 
 her. They knew Proserpina's voice, and were not long 
 in showing their glistening faces and sea-green hair above 
 the water, at the bottom of which was their home. They 
 brought along with them a great many beautiful shells; 
 and, sitting down on the moist sand, where the surf wave 
 broke over them, they busied themselves in making a 
 necklace, which they hung round Proserpina's neck. 
 By way of showing her gratitude, the child besought 
 them to go with her a little way into the fields, so that 
 they might gather abundance of flowers, with which she 
 would make each of her kind playmates a wreath. 
 
 "Oh, no, dear Proserpina," cried the sea nymphs; 
 "we dare not go with you upon the dry land. We are 
 apt to grow faint, unless at every breath we can snuff 
 up the salt breeze of the ocean. And don't you see how 
 careful we are to let the surf wave break over us every 
 moment or two, so as to keep ourselves comfortably 
 moist ? If it were not for that, we should soon look like 
 bunches of uprooted seaweed dried in the sun." 
 
 "It is a great pity," said Proserpina. "But do you 
 wait for me here, and I will run and gather my apron 
 full of flowers, and be back again before the surf wave 
 has broken ten times over you. I long to make you 
 some wreaths that shall be as lovely as this necklace of 
 many-coloured shells." 
 
 "We will wait, then," answered the sea nymphs. 
 "But while you are gone, we may as well He down on a 
 bank of soft sponge, under the water. The air to-day 
 is a little too dry for our comfort. But we will pop up 
 our heads every few minutes to see if you are coming." 
 
 The young Proserpina ran quickly to a spot where, 
 only the day before, she had seen a great many flowers
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 29 
 
 These, however, were now a little past their bloom; and 
 wishing to give her friends the freshest and loveliest 
 blossoms, she strayed farther into the fields, and found 
 some that made her scream with delight. Never had 
 she met with such exquisite flowers before violets, so 
 large and fragrant roses, with so rich and delicate a 
 blush such superb hyacinths and such aromatic pinks 
 and many others, some of which seemed to be of new 
 shapes and colours. Two or three times, moreover, she 
 could not help thinking that a tuft of most splendid 
 flowers had suddenly sprouted out of the earth before 
 her very eyes, as if on purpose to tempt her a few steps 
 farther. Proserpina's apron was soon filled and brim- 
 ming over with delightful blossoms. She was on the 
 point of turning back in order to rejoin the sea nymphs, 
 and sit with them on the moist sands, all twining wreaths 
 together. But, a little farther on, what should she 
 behold? It was a large shrub, completely covered with 
 the most magnificent flowers in the world. 
 
 "The darlings!" cried Proserpina; and then she 
 thought to herself, "I was looking at that spot only a 
 moment ago. How strange it is that I did not see the 
 flowers!" 
 
 The nearer she approached the shrub, the more at- 
 tractive it looked, until she came quite close to it; and 
 then, although its beauty was richer than words can tell, 
 she hardly knew whether to like it or not. It bore above 
 a hundred flowers of the most brilliant hues, and each dif- 
 ferent from the others, but all having a kind of resemblance 
 among themselves, which showed them to be sister blos- 
 soms. But there was a deep, glossy lustre on the leaves 
 of the shrub, and on the petals of the flowers, that made 
 Proserpina doubt whether they might not be poisonous.
 
 30 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 To tell you the truth, foolish as it may seem, she was hall 
 inclined to turn round and run away. 
 
 "What a silly child I am!" thought she, taking courage. 
 "It is really the most beautiful shrub that ever sprang 
 out of the earth. I will pull it up by the roots, and carry 
 it home, and plant it hi my mother's garden." 
 
 Holding up her apron full of flowers with her left hand, 
 Proserpina seized the large shrub with the other, and 
 pulled and pulled, but was hardly able to loosen the soil 
 about its roots. What a deep-rooted plant it was! Again 
 the girl pulled with all her might, and observed that the 
 earth began to stir and crack to some distance around the 
 stem. She gave another pull, but relaxed her hold, 
 fancying that there was a rumbling sound right beneath 
 her feet. Did the roots extend down into some enchanted 
 cavern? Then, laughing at herself for so childish a 
 notion, she made another effort; up came the shrub, 
 and Proserpina staggered back, holding the stem triumph- 
 antly in her hand, and gazing at the deep hole which its 
 roots had left in the soil. 
 
 Much to her astonishment, this hole kept spreading 
 wider and wider, and growing deeper and deeper, until it 
 really seemed to have no bottom; and all the while, there 
 came a rumbling noise out of its depths, louder and 
 louder, and nearer and nearer, and sounding like the 
 tramp of horses' hoofs and the rattling of wheels. Too 
 much frightened to run away, she stood straining her 
 eyes into this wonderful cavity, and soon saw a team of 
 four sable horses, snorting smoke out of their nostrils, 
 and tearing their way out of the earth with a splendid 
 golden chariot whirling at their heels. They leaped out 
 of the bottomless hole, chariot and all; and there they 
 were, tossing their black manes, flourishing their black
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 31 
 
 tails, and curveting with every one of their hoofs off the 
 ground at once, close by the spot where Proserpina stood. 
 In the chariot sat the figure of a man, richly dressed, with 
 a crown on his head, all flaming with diamonds. He 
 was of a noble aspect, and rather handsome, but looked 
 sullen and discontented; and he kept rubbing his eyes 
 and shading them with his hand, as if he did not live 
 enough in the sunshine to be very fond of its light. 
 
 As soon as this personage saw the affrighted Proserpina, 
 he beckoned her to come a little nearer. 
 
 "Do not be afraid," said he, with as cheerful a smile as 
 he knew how to put on. "Come! Will not you like to 
 ride a little way with me, in my beautiful chariot?" 
 
 But Proserpina was so alarmed that she wished for 
 nothing but to get out of his reach. And no wonder. 
 The stranger did not look remarkably good-natured, in 
 spite of his smile; and as for his voice, its tones were deep 
 and stern, and sounded as much like the rumbling of an 
 earthquake under ground as anything else. As is always 
 the case with children in trouble, Proserpina's first thought 
 was to call for her mother. 
 
 "Mother, Mother Ceres!" cried she, all in a tremble. 
 "Come quickly and save me." 
 
 But her voice was too faint for her mother to hear. 
 Indeed, it is most probable that Ceres was then a thou- 
 sand miles off, making the corn grow in some far-distant 
 country. Nor could it have availed her poor daughter, 
 even had she been within hearing; for no sooner did 
 Proserpina begin to cry out than the stranger leaped to 
 the ground, caught the child in his arms, and again mount- 
 ing the chariot, shook the reins, and shouted to the four 
 black horses to set off. They immediately broke into so 
 swift a gallop that it seemed rather like flying through the
 
 32 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 air than running along the earth. In a moment, Proser- 
 pina lost sight of the pleasant vale of Enna, in which she 
 had always dwelt. Another instant, and even the sum- 
 mit of Mount ^Etna had become so blue in the distance 
 that she could scarcely distinguish it from the smoke that 
 gushed out of its crater. But still the poor child screamed 
 and scattered her apron full of flowers along the way, and 
 and left a long cry trailing behind the chariot; and many 
 mothers, to whose ears it came, ran quickly to see if any 
 mischief had befallen their children. But Mother Ceres 
 was a great way off, and could not hear the cry. 
 
 As they rode on, the stranger did his best to soothe her. 
 
 "Why should you be so frightened, my pretty child?" 
 said he, trying to soften his rough voice. "I promise 
 not to do you any harm. What! You have been gather- 
 ing flowers? Wait till we come to my palace, and I will 
 give you a garden full of prettier flowers than those, all 
 made of pearls, and diamonds, and rubies. Can you 
 guess who I am? They call my name Pluto, and I am 
 the king of diamonds and all other precious stones. 
 Every atom of the gold and silver that lies under the earth 
 belongs to me, to say nothing of the copper and iron, and 
 of the coal mines, which supply me with abundance of 
 fuel. Do you see this splendid crown upon my head? 
 You may have it for a plaything. Oh, we shall be very 
 good friends, and you will find me more agreeable than 
 you expect, when once we get out of this troublesome sun- 
 shine." 
 
 "Let me go home!" cried Proserpina "let me go 
 home!" 
 
 "My home is better than your mother's," answered 
 King Pluto. "It is a palace, all made of gold, with 
 crystal windows; and because there is little or no sun-
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 33 
 
 shine thereabouts, the apartments are illuminated with 
 diamond lamps. You never saw anything half so mag- 
 nificent as my throne. If you like, you may sit down on 
 it, and be my little queen, and I will sit on the footstool." 
 
 "I don't care for golden palaces and thrones," sobbed 
 Proserpina. "Oh, my mother, my mother I Carry me 
 back to my mother!" 
 
 But King Pluto, as he called himself, only shouted to 
 his steeds to go faster. 
 
 "Pray do not be foolish, Proserpina," said he, hi rather 
 a sullen tone. "I offer you my palace and my crown, 
 and all the riches that are under the earth; and you treat 
 me as if I were doing you an injury. The one thing 
 which my palace needs is a merry little maid, to run up 
 stairs and down, and cheer up the rooms with her smile. 
 And this is what you must do for King Pluto." 
 
 "Never!" answered Proserpina, looking as miserable 
 as she could. "I shall never smile again till you set me 
 down at my mother's door." 
 
 But she might just as well have talked to the wind that 
 whistled past them; for Pluto urged on his horses, and 
 went faster than ever. ' Proserpina continued to cry out, 
 and screamed so long and so loudly that her poor little 
 voice was almost screamed away; and when it was 
 nothing but a whisper, she happened to cast her eyes 
 over a great, broad field of waving grain and whom do 
 you think she saw? Whom but Mother Ceres, making 
 the corn grow, and too busy to notice the golden chariot 
 as it went rattling along. The child mustered all her 
 strength, and gave one more scream, but was out of sight 
 before Ceres had time to turn her head. 
 
 King Pluto had taken a road which now began to grow 
 excessively gloomy. It was bordered on each side with
 
 34 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 rocks and precipices, between which the rumbling of the 
 chariot wheels was reverbated with a noise like rolling 
 thunder. The trees and bushes tha : grew in the crevices 
 of the rocks had very dismal foliage; and by and by, 
 although it was hardly noon, the air became obscured 
 with a gray twilight. The black horses had rushed along 
 so swiftly that they were already beyond the limits of the 
 sunshine. But the duskier it grew, the more did Pluto's 
 visage assume an air of satisfaction. After all, he was 
 not an ill-looking person, especially when he left off twist- 
 ing his features into a smile that did not belong to them. 
 Proserpina peeped at his face through the gathering dusk, 
 and hoped that he might not be so very wicked as she at 
 first thought him. 
 
 "Ah, this twilight is truly refreshing," said King Pluto, 
 "after being so tormented with that ugly and impertinent 
 glare of the sun. How much more agreeable is lamp- 
 light or torchlight, more particularly when reflected from 
 diamonds! It will be a magnificent sight when we get 
 to my palace." 
 
 "Is it much farther?" asked Proserpina. "And will 
 you carry me back when I have seen it ? " 
 
 "We will talk of that by and by," answered Pluto. 
 "We are just entering my dominions. Do you see that 
 tall gateway before us? WTien we pass those gates, we 
 are at home. And there lies my faithful mastiff at the 
 threshold. Cerberus! Cerberus! Come hither, my good 
 dog!" 
 
 So saying, Pluto pulled at the reins, and stopped 
 the chariot right between the tall, massive pillars of the 
 gateway. The mastiff of which he had spoken got 
 up from the threshold and stood on his hinder legs, 
 so as to put his fore paws on the chariot wheel. But,
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 35 
 
 my stars, what a strange dog it was! Why, he was a 
 big, rough, ugly-looking monster, with three separate 
 heads, and each of them fiercer than the two others; 
 but, fierce as they were, King Pluto patted them all. 
 He seemed as fond of his three-headed dog as if it had 
 been a sweet little spaniel with silken ears and curly 
 hair. Cerberus, on the other hand, was evidently 
 rejoiced to see his master, and expressed his attachment, 
 as other dogs do, by wagging his tail at a great rate. 
 Proserpina's eyes being drawn to it by its brisk motion, 
 she saw that this tail was neither more nor less than a 
 live dragon, with fiery eyes, and fangs that had a very 
 poisonous aspect. And while the three-headed Cerberus 
 was fawning so lovingly on King Pluto, there was the 
 dragon tail wagging against its will, and looking as 
 cross and ill-natured as you can imagine, on its own 
 separate account. 
 
 "Will the dog bite me?" asked Proserpina, shrinking 
 closer to Pluto. "What an ugly creature he is!" 
 
 "Oh, never fear," answered her companion. "He 
 never harms people, unless they try to enter my dominions 
 without being sent for, or to get away when I wish to 
 keep them here. Down, Cerberus! Now, my pretty 
 Proserpina, we will drive on." 
 
 On went the chariot, and King Pluto seemed greatly 
 pleased to find himself once more in his own kingdom. 
 He drew Proserpina's attention to the rich veins of 
 gold that were to be seen among the rocks, and pointed 
 to several places where one stroke of a pickaxe would 
 loosen a bushel of diamonds. All along the road, indeed, 
 there were sparkling gems which would have been of ines- 
 timable value above ground, but which were here reckoned 
 of the meaner sort and hardly worth a beggar'sstoopingfor.
 
 30 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Not far from the gateway they came to a bridge which 
 seemed to be built of iron. Pluto stopped the chariot, 
 and bade Proserpina look at the stream which was 
 gliding so lazily beneath it. Never in her life had she 
 beheld so torpid, so black, so muddy looking a stream: 
 its waters reflected no images of anything that was on 
 the banks, and it moved as sluggishly as if it had quite 
 forgotten which way it ought to flow, and had rather 
 stagnate than flow either one way or the other. 
 
 "This is the river Lethe," observed King Pluto. "Is 
 it not a very pleasant stream ? " 
 
 "I think it a very dismal one," said Proserpina. 
 
 "It suits my taste, however," answered Pluto, who 
 was apt to be sullen when anybody disagreed with 
 him. "At all events, its water has one very excellent 
 quality; for a single draught of it makes people forget 
 every care and sorrow that has hitherto tormented them. 
 Only sip a little of it, my dear Proserpina, and you will 
 instantly cease to grieve for your mother, and will have 
 nothing in your memory that can prevent your being 
 perfectly happy in my palace. I will send for some, 
 in a golden goblet, the moment we arrive." 
 
 "Oh no, no, no!" cried Proserpina, weeping afresh. 
 "I had a thousand times rather be miserable with remem- 
 bering my mother, than be happy in forgetting her. 
 That dear, dear mother! I never, never will forget 
 her." 
 
 "We shall see," said King Pluto. "You do not 
 know what fine times we will have in my palace. Here 
 we are just at the portal. These pillars are solid gold, 
 I assure you." 
 
 . He alighted from the chariot, and taking Proserpina 
 in his arms, carried her up a lofty flight of steps into
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 37 
 
 the great hall of the palace. It was splendidly illumin- 
 ated by means of large precious stones of various hues, 
 which seemed to burn like so many lamps and glowed 
 with a hundred-fold radiance all through the vast apart- 
 ment. And yet there was a kind of gloom in the midst 
 of this enchanted light; nor was there a single object 
 in the hall that was really agreeable to behold, except 
 the little Proserpina herself, a lovely child, with one 
 earthly flower which she had not let fall from her hand. 
 It is my opinion that even King Pluto had never been 
 happy in his palace, and that this was the true reason 
 why he had stolen away Proserpina, in order that he 
 might have something to love, instead of cheating his 
 heart any longer with this tiresome magnificence. And 
 though he pretended to dislike the sunshine of the upper 
 world, yet the effect of the child's presence, bedimmed 
 as she was by her tears, was as if a faint and watery 
 sunbeam had somehow or other found its way into the 
 enchanted hall. 
 
 Pluto now summoned his domestics, and bade them 
 lose no time in preparing a most sumptuous banquet, 
 and above all things not to fail of setting a golden beaker 
 of the water of Lethe by Proserpina's plate. 
 
 "I will neither drink that nor anything else," said 
 Proserpina. "Nor will I taste a morsel of food, even 
 if you keep me forever in your palace." 
 
 "I should be sorry for that," replied King Pluto, 
 patting her cheek; for he really wished to be kind, if 
 he had only known how. "You are a spoiled child, I 
 perceive, my little Proserpina; but when you see the 
 nice things which my cook will make for you, your appe- 
 tite will quickly come again." 
 
 Then, sending for the head cook, he gave strict orders
 
 38 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 that all sorts of delicacies, such as young people are 
 usually fond of, should be set before Proserpina. He 
 had a secret motive in this; for, you are to understand, 
 it is a fixed law that, when persons are carried off to 
 the land of magic, if they once taste any food there, 
 they can never get back to their friends. Now, if King 
 Pluto had been cunning enough to offer Proserpina 
 some fruit, or bread and milk (which was the simple 
 fare to which the child had always been accustomed), 
 it is very probable that she would soon have been tempted 
 to eat it. But he left the matter entirely to his cook, 
 who, like all other cooks, considered nothing fit to eat 
 unless it were rich pastry, or highly seasoned meat, or 
 spiced sweet cakes things which Proserpina's mother 
 had never given her, and the smell of which quite took 
 away her appetite, instead of sharpening it. 
 
 But my story must now clamber out of King Pluto's 
 dominions, and see what Mother Ceres has been about 
 since she was bereft of her daughter. We had a glimpse 
 of her, as you remember, half hidden among the waving 
 grain, while the four black steeds were swiftly whirling 
 along the chariot in which her beloved Proserpina was 
 so unwillingly borne away. You recollect, too, the loud 
 scream which Proserpina gave, just when the chariot 
 was out of sight. 
 
 Of all the child's outcries, this last shriek was the 
 only one that reached the ears of Mother Ceres. She 
 had mistaken the rumbling of the chariot wheels for a 
 peal of thunder, and imagined that a shower was com- 
 ing up, and that it would assist her hi making the corn 
 grow. But, at the sound of Proserpina's shriek, she 
 started, and looked about in every direction, not know- 
 ing whence it came, but feeling almost certain that
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 39 
 
 ft was her daughter's voice. It seemed so unaccount- 
 able, however, that the girl should have strayed over 
 so many lands and seas (which she herself could not 
 have traversed without the aid of her winged dragons), 
 that the good Ceres tried to believe that it must be the 
 child of some other parent, and not her own darling 
 Proserpina who had uttered this lamentable cry. Never- 
 theless, it troubled her with a vast many tender fears, 
 such as axe ready to bestir themselves in every mother's 
 heart, when she finds it necessary to go away from her 
 dear children without leaving them under the care of 
 some maiden aunt, or other such faithful guardian. 
 So she quickly left the field in which she had been so 
 busy; and, as her work was not half done, the grain 
 looked, next day, as if it needed both sun and rain, and 
 as if it were blighted in the ear and had something the 
 matter with its roots. 
 
 The pair of dragons must have had very nimble 
 wings; for, hi less than an hour, Mother Ceres had 
 alighted at the door of her home and found it empty. 
 Knowing, however, that the child was fond of sporting 
 on the seashore, she hastened thither as fast as she could, 
 and there beheld the wet faces of the poor sea nymphs 
 peeping over a wave. All this while, the good creatures 
 had been waiting on the bank of sponge, and, once 
 every half-minute or so, had popped up their four heads 
 above water, to see if their playmate were yet coming 
 back. When they saw Mother Ceres, they sat down 
 on the crest of the surf wave, and let it toss them ashore 
 at her feet. 
 
 "Where is Proserpina?" cried Ceres. "Where is 
 my child? Tell me, you naughty sea nymphs, have 
 you enticed her under the sea?"
 
 4O Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "Oh, no, good Mother Ceres," said the innocent sea 
 nymphs, tossing back their green ringlets and looking 
 her in the face. "We never should dream of such a 
 thing. Proserpina has been at play with us, it is true; 
 but she left us a long while ago, meaning only to run 
 a little way upon the dry land and gather some flowers 
 for a wreath. This was early hi the day, and we have 
 seen nothing of her since." 
 
 Ceres scarcely waited to hear what the nymphs had 
 to say before she hurried off to make inquiries all through 
 the neighbourhood. But nobody told her anything that 
 could enable the poor mother to guess what had become 
 of Proserpina. A fisherman, it is true, had noticed 
 her little footprints in the sand, as he went homeward 
 along the beach with a basket of fish; a rustic had seen 
 the child stooping to gather flowers; several persons 
 had heard either the rattling of chariot wheels or the 
 rumbling of distant thunder; and one old woman, while 
 plucking vervain and catnip, had heard a scream, but 
 supposed it to be some childish nonsense, and therefore 
 did not take the trouble to look up. The stupid people! 
 It took them such a tedious while to tell the nothing that 
 they knew, that it was dark night before Mother Ceres 
 found out that she must seek her daughter elsewhere. 
 So she lighted a torch, and set forth, resolving never to 
 come back until Proserpina was discovered. 
 
 In her haste and trouble of mind, she quite forgot 
 her car and the winged dragons; or, it may be, she thought 
 that she could follow up the search more thoroughly on 
 foot. At all events, this was the way hi which she 
 began her sorrowful journey, holding her torch before 
 her, and looking carefully at every object along the path- 
 And as it happened, she had not gone far before she found
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 41 
 
 one of the magnificent flowers which grew on the shrub 
 that Proserpina had pulled up. 
 
 "Ha!" thought Mother Ceres, examining it by torch 
 light. "Here is mischief in this flower! The earth 
 did not produce it by any help of mine, nor of its own 
 accord. It is the work of enchantment, and is therefore 
 poisonous; and perhaps it has poisoned my poor child." 
 
 But she put the poisonous flower in her bosom, not 
 knowing whether she might ever find any other memo- 
 rial of Proserpina. 
 
 All night long, at the door of every cottage and farm- 
 house, Ceres knocked and called up the weary labourers 
 to inquire if they had seen her child; and they stood, 
 gaping and half asleep, at the threshold, and answered 
 her pityingly, and besought her to come in and rest. 
 At the portal of every palace, too, she made so loud a 
 summons that the menials hurried to throw open the 
 gate, thinking that it must be some great king or queen, 
 who would demand a banquet for supper and a stately 
 chamber to repose in. And when they saw only a sad 
 and anxious woman, with a torch in her hand and a 
 wreath of withered poppies on her head, they spoke 
 rudely, and sometimes threatened to set the dogs upon 
 her. But nobody had seen Proserpina, nor could give 
 Mother Ceres the least hint which way to seek her. 
 Thus passed the night; and still she continued her 
 search without sitting down to rest, or stopping to take 
 food, or even remembering to put out the torch; although 
 first the rosy dawn, and then the glad light of the morning 
 sun, made its red flame look thin and pale. But I won- 
 der what sort of stuff this torch was made of; for it burned 
 dimly through the day, and, at night, was as bright as 
 ever, and never was extinguished by the rain or wind
 
 42 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 in all the weary days and nights while Ceres was seeking 
 for Proserpina. 
 
 It was not merely of human beings that she asked 
 tidings of her daughter. In the woods and by the 
 streams she met creatures of another nature, who used, 
 in those old times, to haunt the pleasant and solitary 
 places, and were very sociable with persons who under- 
 stood their language and customs, as Mother Ceres did. 
 Sometimes, for instance, she tapped with her finger 
 against the knotted trunk of a majestic oak; and imme- 
 diately its rude bark would cleave asunder, and forth 
 would step a beautiful maiden, who was the hamadryad 
 of the oak, dwelling inside of it, and sharing its long life, 
 and rejoicing when its green leaves sported with the 
 breeze. But not one of these leafy damsels had seen 
 Proserpina. Then, going a little farther, Ceres would, 
 perhaps, come to a fountain gushing out of a pebbly 
 hollow in the earth, and would dabble with her hand 
 in the water. Behold, up through its sandy and pebbly 
 bed, along with the fountain's gush, a young woman 
 with dripping hair would arise, and stand gazing at 
 Mother Ceres, half out of the water, and undulating up 
 and down with its ever-restless motion. But when the 
 mother asked whether her poor lost child had stopped 
 to drink out of the fountain, the naiad, with weeping eyes 
 (for these water nymphs had tears to spare for every- 
 body's grief), would answer, "No!" in a murmuring 
 voice, which was just like the murmur of the stream. 
 
 Often, likewise, she encountered fauns, who looked 
 like sunburnt country people, except that they had hairy 
 ears, and little horns upon then- foreheads, and the 
 hinder legs of goats, on which they gambolled merrily 
 about the woods and fields. They were a frolicsome
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 43 
 
 kind of creature, but grew as sad as their cheerful dis- 
 positions would allow when Ceres inquired for her 
 daughter, and they had no good news to tell. But some- 
 times she came suddenly upon a rude gang of satyrs, who 
 had faces like monkeys and horses' tails behind them, 
 and who were generally dancing in a very boisterous 
 manner, with shouts of noisy laughter. When she 
 stopped to question them, they would only laugh the 
 louder and make new merriment out of the lone woman's 
 distress. How unkind of those ugly satyrs! And once, 
 while crossing a solitary sheep pasture, she saw a per- 
 sonage named Pan, seated at the foot of a tall rock and 
 making music on a shepherd's flute. He, too, had horns, 
 and hairy ears, and goat's feet; but, being acquainted 
 with Mother Ceres, he answered her question as civilly 
 as he knew how, and invited her to taste some milk and 
 honey out of a wooden bowl. But neither could Pan 
 tell her what had become of Proserpina, any better than 
 the rest of these wild people. 
 
 And thus Mother Ceres went wandering about for 
 nine long days and nights, finding no trace of Proserpina, 
 unless it were now and then a withered flower; and 
 these she picked up and put in her bosom, because she 
 fancied that they might have fallen from her poor child's 
 hand. All day she travelled onward through the hot 
 sun; and at night, again, the flame of the torch would 
 redden and gleam along the pathway, and she continued 
 her search by its light, without ever sitting down to rest. 
 
 On the tenth day, she chanced to espy the mouth of 
 a cavern, within which (though it was bright noon every- 
 where else) there would have been only a dusky twi- 
 light; but it so happened that a torch was burning there. 
 It flickered, and struggled with the duskiness, but could
 
 44 Myths Every Child Slwuld Know 
 
 not half light up the gloomy cavern with all its melan- 
 choly glimmer. Ceres was resolved to leave no spot 
 without a search; so she peeped into the entrance of 
 the cave, and lighted it up a little more by holding her 
 own torch before her. In so doing, she caught a glimpse 
 of what seemed to be a woman, sitting on the brown 
 kaves of the last autumn, a great heap of which had been 
 swept into the cave by the wind. This woman (if 
 woman it were) was by no means so beautiful as many 
 of her sex; for her head, they tell me, was shaped very 
 much like a dog's, and, by way of ornament, she wore 
 a wreath of snakes around it. But Mother Ceres, the 
 moment she saw her, knew that this was an odd kind 
 of a person, who put all her enjoyment in being miser- 
 able, and never would have a word to say to other people, 
 unless they were as melancholy and wretched as she 
 herself delighted to be. 
 
 "I am wretched enough now," thought poor Ceres, 
 "to talk with this melancholy Hecate, were she ten 
 times sadder than ever she was yet." 
 
 So she stepped into the cave, and sat down on the 
 withered leaves by the dog-headed woman's side. In 
 all the world, since her daughter's loss, she had found 
 no other companion. 
 
 "O Hecate," said she, "if ever you lose a daughter, 
 you will know what sorrow is. Tell me, for pity's sake, 
 have you seen my poor child Proserpina pass by the 
 mouth of your cavern ? " 
 
 "No," answered Hecate, in a cracked voice, and 
 sighing betwixt every word or two "no, Mother Ceres, 
 I have seen nothing of your daughter. But my ears, 
 you must know, are made in such a way that all cries 
 of distress and affright, all over the world, are pretty
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 45 
 
 sure to find their way to them; and nine days ago, as 1 
 sat in my cave, making myself very miserable, I heard 
 the voice of a young girl shrieking as if in great distress. 
 Something terrible has happened to the child, you may 
 rest assured. As well as I could judge, a dragon, or 
 some other cruel monster, was carrying her away." 
 
 "You kill me by saying so," cried Ceres, almost ready 
 to faint. "Where was the sound, and which way did 
 it seem to go ? " 
 
 "It passed very swiftly along," said Hecate, "and, 
 at the same time, there was a heavy rumbling of wheels 
 toward the eastward. I can tell you nothing more, 
 except that, in my honest opinion, you will never see 
 your daughter again. The best advice I can give you 
 is to take up your abode in this cavern, where we will 
 be the two most wretched women in the world." 
 
 "Not yet, dark Hecate," replied Ceres. "But do 
 you first come with your torch, and help me to seek 
 for my lost child. And when there shall be no more 
 hope of finding her (if that black day is ordained to 
 come), then, if you will give me room to fling myself 
 down, either on these withered leaves or on the naked 
 rock, I will show you what it is to be miserable. But, 
 until I know that she has perished from the face of the 
 earth, I will not allow myself space even to grieve." 
 
 The dismal Hecate did not much like the idea of 
 going abroad into the sunny world. But then she 
 reflected that the sorrow of the disconsolate Ceres would 
 be like a gloomy twilight round about them both, let 
 the sun shine ever so brightly, and that therefore she 
 might enjoy her bad spirits quite as well as if she were 
 to stay in the cave. So she finally consented to go, and 
 they set out together, both carrying torches, although
 
 46 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 it was broad daylight and clear sunshine. The torch- 
 light seemed to make a gloom; so that the people whom 
 they met along the road could not very distinctly see 
 their figures; and, indeed, if they once caught a glimpse 
 of Hecate, with the wreath of snakes round her forehead, 
 they generally thought it prudent to run away without 
 waiting for a second glance. 
 
 As the pair travelled along in this woebegone manner, 
 a thought struck Ceres. 
 
 "There is one person," she exclaimed, "who must 
 have seen my poor child, and can doubtless tell what 
 has become of her. Why did not I think of him before ? 
 It is Phoebus." 
 
 "What," said Hecate, "the young man that always 
 sits in the sunshine? Oh, pray do not think of going 
 near him. He is a gay, light, frivolous young fellow, 
 and will only smile in your face. And besides, there 
 is such a glare of the sun about him that he will quite 
 blind my poor eyes, which I have almost wept away 
 already." 
 
 "You have promised to be my companion," answered 
 Ceres. "Come, let us make haste, or the sunshine 
 will be gone, and Phoebus along with it." 
 
 Accordingly, they went along in quest of Phcebus, both 
 of them sighing grievously, and Hecate, to say the truth, 
 making a great deal worse lamentation than Ceres; for 
 all the pleasure she had, you know, lay in being miserable, 
 and therefore she made the most of it. By and by, after 
 a pretty long journey, they arrived at the sunniest spot 
 in the whole world. There they beheld a beautiful young 
 man, with long, curling ringlets, which seemed to be made 
 of golden sunbeams; his garments were like light sum- 
 mer clouds; and the expression of his face was so exceed-
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 47 
 
 Ingly vivid that Hecate held her hands before her eyes, 
 muttering that he ought to wear a black veil. Phoebus 
 (for this was the very person whom they were seeking) 
 had a lyre in his hands, and was making its chords trem- 
 ble with sweet music; at the same time singing a most 
 exquisite song, which he had recently composed. For, 
 besides a great many other accomplishments, this young 
 man was renowned for his admirable poetry. 
 
 As Ceres and her dismal companion approached him, 
 Phoebus smiled on them so cheerfully that Hecate's 
 wreath of snakes gave a spiteful hiss, and Hecate heartily 
 wished herself back in her cave. But as for Ceres, she 
 was too earnest in her grief either to know or care whether 
 Phoebus smiled or frowned. 
 
 "Phoebus I" exclaimed she, "I am in great trouble, 
 and have come to you for assistance. Can you tell me 
 what has become of my dear child Proserpina?" 
 
 "Proserpina! Proserpina, did you call her name?" 
 answered Phcebus, endeavouring to recollect; for there 
 was such a continual flow of pleasant ideas in his mind 
 that he was apt to forget what had happened no longer 
 ago than yesterday. "Ah, yes, I remember her now. A 
 very lovely child, indeed. I am happy to tell you, my 
 dear madam, that I did see the little Proserpina not many 
 days ago. You may make yourself perfectly easy about 
 her. She is safe, and in excellent hands." 
 
 "Oh, where is my dear child?" cried Ceres, clasping 
 her hands and flinging herself at his feet. 
 
 "Why," said Phcebus and as he spoke, he kept 
 touching his lyre so as to make a thread of music run in 
 and out among his words "as the little damsel was 
 gathering flowers (and she has really a very exquisite taste 
 for flowers) she was suddenly snatched up by King Pluto
 
 48 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 and carried off to his dominions. I have never been in 
 that part of the universe; but the royal palace, I am told, 
 is built in a very noble style of architecture, and of the 
 most splendid and costly materials. Gold, diamonds, 
 pearls, and all manner of precious stones will be your 
 daughter's ordinary playthings. I recommend to you, 
 my dear lady, to give yourself no uneasiness. Proser- 
 pina's sense of beauty will be duly gratified, and, even in 
 spite of the lack of sunshine, she will lead a very enviable 
 life." 
 
 "Hush! Say not such a word!" answered Ceres, 
 indignantly. " What is there to gratify her heart ? What 
 are all the splendours you speak of, without affection ? I 
 must have her back again. Will you go with me, Phoebus, 
 to demand my daughter of this wicked Pluto ? " 
 
 "Pray excuse me," replied Phoebus, with an elegant 
 obeisance. "I certainly wish you success, and regret 
 that my own affairs are so immediately pressing that I 
 cannot have the pleasure of attending you. Besides, I 
 am not upon the best of terms with King Pluto. To tell 
 you the truth, his three-headed mastiff would never let me 
 pass the gateway; for I should be compelled to take a 
 sheaf of sunbeams along with me, and those, you know, 
 are forbidden things in Pluto's kingdom." 
 
 "Ah, Phoebus," said Ceres, with bitter meaning in her 
 words, "you have a harp instead of a heart. Farewell." 
 
 "Will not you stay a moment," asked Phoebus, "and 
 hear me turn the pretty and touching story of Proserpina 
 into extemporary verses?" 
 
 But Ceres shook her head, and hastened away, along 
 with Hecate. Phoebus (who, as I have told you, was an 
 exquisite poet) forthwith began to make an ode about the 
 poor mother's grief; and, if we were to judge of his sen-
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 49 
 
 sibility by this beautiful production, he must have been 
 endowed with a very tender heart. But when a poet 
 gets into the habit of using his heartstrings to make chords 
 for his lyre, he may thrum upon them as much as he will, 
 without any great pain to himself. Accordingly, though 
 Phoebus sang a very sad song, he was as merry all the 
 while as were the sunbeams amid which he dwelt. 
 
 Poor Mother Ceres had now found out what had be- 
 come of her daughter, but was not a whit happier than 
 before. Her case, on the contrary, looked more desper- 
 ate than ever. As long as Proserpina was above ground 
 there might have been hopes of regaining her. But now, 
 that the poor child was shut up within the iron gates of 
 the king of the mines, at the threshold of which lay the 
 three-headed Cerberus, there seemed no possibility of 
 her ever making her escape. The dismal Hecate, who 
 loved to take the darkest view of things, told Ceres that 
 she had better come with her to the cavern, and spend 
 the rest of her life in being miserable. Ceres answered 
 that Hecate was welcome to go back thither herself, but 
 that, for her part, she would wander about the earth in 
 quest of the entrance to King Pluto's dominions. And 
 Hecate took her at her word, and hurried back to her 
 beloved cave, frightening a great many little children with 
 a glimpse of her dog's face as she went. 
 
 Poor Mother Ceres ! It is melancholy to think of her, 
 pursuing her toilsome way all alone, and holding up that 
 never-dying torch, the flame of which seemed an emblem 
 of the grief and hope that burned together in her heart. 
 So much did she suffer that, though her aspect had been 
 quite youthful when her troubles began, she grew to look 
 like an elderly person in a very brief time. She cared not 
 how she was dressed, nor had she ever thought of flinging
 
 5 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 away the wreath of withered poppies which she put on 
 the very morning of Proserpina's disappearance. She 
 roamed about in so wild a way, and with her hair so 
 dishevelled, that people took her for some distracted 
 creature, and never dreamed that this was Mother Ceres, 
 who had the oversight of every seed which the husband- 
 man planted. Nowadays, however, she gave herself no 
 trouble about seed time nor harvest, but left the farmers 
 to take care of their own affairs, and the crops to fade or 
 flourish, as the case might be. There was nothing, now, 
 in which Ceres seemed to feel an interest, unless when she 
 saw children at play, or gathering flowers along the way- 
 side. Then, indeed, she would stand and gaze at them 
 with tears in her eyes. The children, too, appeared to 
 have a sympathy with her grief, and would cluster them- 
 selves in a little group about her knees, and look up 
 wistfully in her face; and Ceres, after giving them 
 a kiss all round, would lead them to their homes, and 
 advise their mothers never to let them stray out of sight. 
 
 "For if they do," said she, " it may happen to you, as it 
 has to me, that the iron-hearted King Pluto will take a lik- 
 ing to your darlings, and snatch them up in his chariot, 
 and carry them away." 
 
 One day, during her pilgrimage in quest of the entrance 
 to Pluto's kingdom, she came to the palace of King Celeus, 
 who reigned at Eleusis. Ascending a lofty flight of steps, 
 she entered the portal, and found the royal household in 
 very great alarm about the queen's baby. The infant, 
 it seems, was sickly (being troubled with its teeth, I sup- 
 pose), and would take no food, and was all the time moan 
 ing with pain. The queen her name was Metanira 
 was desirous of finding a nurse; and when she beheld a 
 woman of matronly aspect coming up the palace steps.
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 51 
 
 *he thought, in her own mind, that here was the very 
 person whom she needed. So Queen Metanira ran to 
 the door, with the poor wailing baby in her arms, and 
 besought Ceres to take charge of it, or, at least, to tell her 
 what would do it good. 
 
 "Will you trust the child entirely to me?" asked Ceres. 
 
 "Yes, and gladly, too," answered the queen, "if you 
 will devote all your time to him. For I can see that you 
 have been a mother." 
 
 "You are right," said Ceres. "I once had a child of 
 my own. Well; I will be the nurse of this poor, sickly 
 boy. But beware, I warn you, that you do not interfere 
 with any kind of treatment which I may judge proper 
 for him. If you do so, the poor infant must suffer for his 
 mother's folly." 
 
 Then she kissed the child, and it seemed to do him 
 good; for he smiled and nestled closely into her bosom. 
 
 So Mother Ceres set her torch in a corner (where it kept 
 burning all the while), and took up her abode in the 
 palace of King Celeus, as nurse to the little Prince Demo- 
 phoon. She treated him as if he were her own child, 
 and allowed neither the king nor the queen to say whether 
 he should be bathed in warm or cold water, or what he 
 should eat, or how often he should take the air, or when 
 he should be put to bed. You would hardly believe me, 
 if I were to tell how quickly the baby prince got rid of 
 his ailments, and grew fat, and rosy, and strong, and 
 how he had two rows of ivory teeth in less time than any 
 other little fellow, before or since. Instead of the palest, 
 and wretchedest, and puniest imp hi the world (as his 
 own mother confessed him to be when Ceres first took 
 him in charge), he was now a strapping baby, crowing, 
 laughing, kicking up his heels, and rolling from one end
 
 52 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 of the room to the other. All the good women of the 
 neighbourhood crowded to the palace, and held up their 
 hands, in unutterable amazement, at the beauty and 
 wholesomeness of this darling little prince. Their won- 
 der was the greater, because he was never seen to taste 
 any food; not even so much as a cup of milk. 
 
 "Pray, nurse," the queen kept saying, "how is it that 
 you make the child thrive so ? " 
 
 "I was a mother once," Ceres always replied; "and 
 having nursed my own child, I know what other children 
 need." 
 
 But Queen Metanira, as was very natural, had a great 
 curiosity to know precisely what the nurse did to her child. 
 One night, therefore, she hid herself in the chamber where 
 Ceres and the little prince were accustomed to sleep. 
 There was a fire in the chimney, and it had now crumbled 
 into great coals and embers, which lay glowing on the 
 hearth, with a blaze flickering up now and then, and 
 flinging a warm and ruddy light upon the walls. Ceres 
 sat before the hearth with the child in her lap, and the fire- 
 light making her shadow dance upon the ceiling overhead. 
 She undressed the little prince, and bathed him all over 
 with some fragrant liquid out of a vase. The next thing 
 she did was to rake back the red embers, and make a 
 hollow place among them, just where the backlog had 
 been. At last, while the baby was crowing, and clapping- 
 its fat little hands, and laughing in the nurse's face (jus,* 
 as you may have seen your little brother or sister do before 
 going into its warm bath), Ceres suddenly laid him, all 
 naked as he was, in the hollow among the red-hot embers. 
 She then raked the ashes over him, and turned quietly 
 away. 
 
 You may imagine, if you can, how Queen Metanira
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 53 
 
 shrieked, thinking nothing less than that her dear child 
 would be burned to a cinder. She burst forth from her 
 hiding place, and running to the hearth, raked open the 
 fire, and snatched up poor little Prince Demophoon out 
 of his bed of live coals, one of which he was griping in 
 each of his fists. He immediately set up a grievous cry, 
 as babies are apt to do when rudely startled out of a sound 
 sleep. To the queen's astonishment and joy, she could 
 perceive no token of the child's being injured by the hot 
 fire in which he had lain. She now turned to Mother 
 Ceres, and asked her to explain the mystery. 
 
 "Foolish woman," answered Ceres, "did you not prom- 
 ise to intrust this poor infant entirely to me? You little 
 know the mischief you have done him. Had you left 
 him to my care, he would have grown up like a child of 
 celestial birth, endowed with superhuman strength and 
 intelligence, and would have lived forever. Do you 
 imagine that earthly children are to become immortal 
 without being tempered to it in the fiercest heat of the 
 fire? But you have ruined your own son. For though 
 he will be a strong man and a hero in his day, yet, on 
 account of your folly, he will grow old, and finally die, 
 like the sons of other women. The weak tenderness of 
 his mother has cost the poor boy an immortality. Fare- 
 well." 
 
 Saying these words, she kissed the little Prince Demo- 
 phoon, and sighed to think what he had lost, and took 
 her departure without heeding Queen Metanira, who 
 entreated her to remain, and cover up the child among 
 the hot embers as often as she pleased. Poor baby! He 
 never slept so warmly again. 
 
 While she dwelt in the king's palace, Mother Ceres 
 had been so continually occupied with taking care of the
 
 54 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 young prince that her heart was a little lightened of its 
 grief for Proserpina. But now, having nothing else to 
 busy herself about, she became just as wretched as before. 
 At length, in her despair, she came to the dreadful reso- 
 lution that not a stalk of grain, nor a blade of grass, not a 
 potato, nor a turnip, nor any other vegetable that was 
 good for man or beast to eat, should be suffered to grow 
 until her daughter were restored. She even forbade the 
 flowers to bloom, lest somebody's heart should be cheered 
 by their beauty. 
 
 Now, as not so much as a head of asparagus ever 
 presumed to poke itself out of the ground without the 
 especial permission of Ceres, you may conceive what 
 a terrible calamity had here fallen upon the earth. 
 The husbandmen ploughed and planted as usual; 
 but there lay the rich black furrows, all as barren as a 
 desert of sand. The pastures looked as brown in the 
 sweet month of June as ever they did in chill November. 
 The rich man's broad acres and the cottager's small 
 garden patch were equally blighted. Every little girl's 
 flower bed showed nothing but dry stalks. The old 
 people shook their white heads, and said that the earth 
 had grown aged like themselves, and was no longer 
 capable of wearing the warm smile of summer on its face. 
 It was really piteous to see the poor, starving cattle and 
 sheep, how they followed behind Ceres, lowing and 
 bleating, as if their instinct taught them to expect help 
 from her; and everybody that was acquainted with her 
 power besought her to have mercy on the human race, 
 and, at all events, to let the grass grow. But Mother 
 Ceres, though naturally of an affectionate disposition, was 
 now inexorable. 
 
 "Never," said she. "If the earth is ever again to see
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 55 
 
 any verdure, it must first grow along the path which my 
 daughter will tread in coming back to me." 
 
 Finally, as there seemed to be no other remedy, our 
 old friend Quicksilver was sent post haste to King Pluto, 
 in hopes that he might be persuaded to undo the mischief 
 he had done, and to set everything right again by giving 
 up Proserpina. Quicksilver accordingly made the best 
 of his way to the great gate, took a flying leap right over 
 the three-headed mastiff, and stood at the door of the 
 palace in an inconceivably short time. The servants 
 knew him both by his face and garb ; for his short cloak, 
 and his winged cap and shoes, and his snaky staff had 
 often been seen thereabouts in times gone by. He re- 
 quested to be shown immediately into the king's presence; 
 and Pluto, who heard his voice from the top of the stairs, 
 and who loved to recreate himself with Quicksilver's 
 merry talk, called out to him to come up. And while 
 they settle their business together, we must inquire what 
 Proserpina has been doing ever since we saw her last. 
 
 The child had declared, as you may remember, that she 
 would not taste a mouthful of food as long as she should 
 be compelled to remain in King Pluto's palace. How 
 she contrived to maintain her resolution, and at the same 
 time to keep herself tolerably plump and rosy is more 
 than I can explain; but some young ladies, I am given to 
 understand, possess the faculty of living on air, and 
 Proserpina seems to have possessed it too. At any rate, 
 it was now six months since she left the outside of the 
 earth; and not a morsel, so far as the attendants were 
 able to testify, had yet passed between her teeth. This 
 was the more creditable to Proserpina, inasmuch as King 
 Pluto had caused her to be tempted day after day with 
 oil manner of sweetmeats, and richly preserved fruits,
 
 56 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 and delicacies of every sort, such as young people are 
 generally most fond of. But her good mother had often 
 told her of the hurtfulness of these things; and for that 
 reason alone, if there had been no other, she would have 
 resolutely refused to taste them. 
 
 All this time, being of a cheerful and active disposition, 
 the little damsel was not quite so unhappy as you may 
 have supposed. The immense palace had a thousand 
 rooms, and was full of beautiful and wonderful objects. 
 There was a never-ceasing gloom, it is true, which hali 
 hid itself among the innumerable pillars, gliding before 
 the child as she wandered among them, and treading 
 stealthily behind her in the echo of her footsteps. Neither 
 was all the dazzle of the precious stones, which flamed 
 with their own light, worth one gleam of natural sunshine; 
 nor could the most brilliant of the many-coloured gems, 
 which Proserpina had for playthings, vie with the simple 
 beauty of the flowers she used to gather. But still, 
 wherever the girl went, among those gilded halls and 
 chambers, it seemed as if she carried nature and sunshine 
 along with her, and as if she scattered dewy blossoms on 
 her right hand and on her left. After Proserpina came, 
 the palace was no longer the same abode of stately 
 artifice and dismal magnificence that it had before been. 
 The inhabitants all felt this, and King Pluto more than 
 any of them. 
 
 "My own little Proserpina," he used to say, "I wish 
 you could like me a little better. We gloomy and 
 cloudy-natured persons have often as warm hearts at 
 bottom as those of a more cheerful character. If you 
 would only stay with me of your own accord, it would 
 make me happier than the possession of a hundred such 
 palaces as this."
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 57 
 
 "Ah," said Proserpina, "you should have tried to 
 make me like you before carrying me off. And the 
 best thing you can do now is to let me go again. Then 
 I might remember you sometimes, and think that you 
 were as kind as you knew how to be. Perhaps, too, 
 one day or other, I might come back, and pay you a 
 visit." 
 
 "No, no," answered Pluto, with his gloomy smile, 
 "I will not trust you for that. You are too fond of 
 living in the broad daylight, and gathering flowers. 
 What an idle and childish taste that is! Are not these 
 gems, which I have ordered to be dug for you, and 
 which are richer than any in my crown are they not 
 prettier than a violet?" 
 
 "Not half so pretty," said Proserpina, snatching the 
 gems from Pluto's hand, and flinging them to the other 
 end of the hall. "Oh, my sweet violets, shall I never 
 see you again?" 
 
 And then she burst into tears. But young people's 
 tears have very little saltness or acidity in them, and 
 do not inflame the eyes so much as those of grown persons; 
 so that it is not to be wondered at if, a few moments after- 
 ward, Proserpina was sporting through the hall almost 
 as merrily as she and the four sea nymphs had sported 
 along the edge of the surf wave. King Pluto gazed after 
 her, and wished that he, too, was a child. And little 
 Proserpina, when she turned about and beheld this great 
 king standing in his splendid hall, and looking so grand, 
 and so melancholy, and so lonesome, was smitten with a 
 kind of pity. She ran back to him, and, for the first 
 time in all her life, put her small soft hand in his. 
 
 "I love you a little," whispered she, looking up in his 
 face
 
 58 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "Do you, indeed, my dear child?" cried Pluto, bending 
 his dark face down to kiss her; but Proserpina shrank 
 away from the kiss, for though his features were noble, 
 they were very dusky and grim. "Well, I have not 
 deserved it of you, after keeping you a prisoner for so 
 many months, and starving you, besides. Are you not 
 terribly hungry ? Is there nothing which I can get you to 
 eat?" 
 
 In asking this question, the king of the mines had a 
 very cunning purpose ; for, you will recollect, if Proserpina 
 tasted a morsel of food in his dominions, she would never 
 afterward be at liberty to quit them. 
 
 "No, indeed," said Proserpina. "Your head cook 
 Is always baking, and stewing, and roasting, and rolling 
 out paste, and contriving one dish or another, which he 
 imagines may be to my liking. But he might just as 
 well save himself the trouble, poor, fat little man that he 
 is. I have no appetite for anything in the world, unless 
 it were a slice of bread of my mother's own baking, or a 
 little fruit out of her garden." 
 
 When Pluto heard this, he began to see that he had 
 mistaken the best method of tempting Proserpina to 
 eat. The cook's made dishes and artificial dainties 
 were not half so delicious in the good child's opinion 
 as the simple fare to which Mother Ceres had accus- 
 tomed her. Wondering that he had never thought of 
 it before, the king now sent one of his trusty attendants, 
 with a large basket, to get some of the finest and juiciest 
 pears, peaches and plums which could anywhere be found 
 in the upper world. Unfortunately, however, this was 
 during the time when Ceres had forbidden any fruits or 
 vegetables to grow; and, after seeking all over the earth, 
 King Pluto's servant found only a single pomegranate,
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 59 
 
 and that so dried up as to be not worth eating. Never- 
 theless, since there was no better to be had, he brought 
 this dry, old, withered pomegranate home to the palace, 
 put it on a magnificent golden salver, and carried it up to 
 Proserpina. Now it happened, curiously enough, that, 
 just as the servant was bringing the pomegranate into 
 the back door of the palace, our friend Quicksilver had 
 gone up the front steps, on his errand to get Proserpina 
 away from King Pluto. 
 
 As soon as Proserpina saw the pomegranate on the 
 golden salver, she told the servant he had better take 
 it away again. 
 
 "I shall not touch it, I assure you," said she. "If 
 I were ever so hungry, I should never think of eating 
 such a miserable, dry pomegranate as that." 
 
 "It is the only one in the world," said the servant. 
 He set down the golden salver, with the wizened pome- 
 granate upon it, and left the room. When he was 
 gone, Proserpina could not help coming close to the 
 table, and looking at this poor specimen of dried fruit 
 with a great deal of eagerness; for, to say the truth, on 
 seeing something that suited her taste, she felt all the 
 six months' appetite taking possession of her at once. 
 To be sure, it was a very wretched looking pomegranate, 
 and seemed to have no more juice in it than an oyster 
 shell. But there was no choice of such things in King 
 Pluto's palace. This was the first fruit she had seen 
 there, and the last she was ever likely to see; and unless 
 she ate it up immediately, it would grow drier than it 
 already was, and be wholly unfit to eat. 
 
 "At least, I may smell it," thought Proserpina. 
 
 So she took up the pomegranate, and applied it to 
 Uer nose; and, somehow or other, being in such close
 
 Co Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 neighbourhood to her mouth, the fruit found its way 
 into that little red cave. Dear me! what an everlasting 
 pity! Before Proserpina knew what she was about, 
 her teeth had actually bitten it, of their own accord. Just 
 as this fatal deed was done, the door of the apartment 
 opened, and in came King Pluto, followed by Quicksilver, 
 who had been urging him to let his little prisoner go. 
 At the first noise of their entrance, Proserpina withdrew 
 the pomegranate from her mouth. But Quicksilver 
 (whose eyes were very keen, and his wits the sharpest 
 that ever anybody had) perceived that the child was a 
 little confused; and seeing the empty salver, he suspected 
 that she had been taking a sly nibble of something or 
 other. As for honest Pluto, he never guessed at the 
 secret. 
 
 "My little Proserpina," said the king, sitting down, 
 and affectionately drawing her between his knees, 
 "here is Quicksilver, who tells me that a great many 
 misfortunes have befallen innocent people on account 
 of my detaining you in my dominions. To confess 
 the truth, I myself had already reflected that it was 
 an unjustifiable act to take you away from your good 
 mother. But, then, you must consider, my dear child, 
 that this vast palace is apt to be gloomy (although the 
 precious stones certainly shine very bright), and that 
 I am not of the most cheerful disposition, and that 
 therefore it was a natural thing enough to seek for the 
 society of some merrier creature than myself. I hoped 
 you would take my crown for a plaything, and me 
 ah, you laugh, naughty Proserpina me, grim as I 
 am, for a playmate. It was a silly expectation." 
 
 "Not so extremely silly," whispered Proserpina. 
 "You have really amused me very much, sometimes."
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 61 
 
 "Thank you," said King Pluto, rather dryly. "But 
 I can see, plainly enough, that you think my palace a 
 dusky prison, and me the iron-hearted keeper of it. 
 And an iron heart I should surely have, if I could detain 
 you here any longer, my poor child, when it is now six 
 months since you tasted food. I give you your liberty. 
 Go with Quicksilver. Hasten home to your dear 
 mother." 
 
 Now, although you may not have supposed it, Proser- 
 pina found it impossible to take leave of poor King 
 Pluto without some regrets, and a good deal of com- 
 punction for not telling him about the pomegranate. 
 She even shed a tear or two, thinking how lonely and 
 cheerless the great palace would seem to him, with all 
 its ugly glare of artificial light, after she herself his 
 one little ray of natural sunshine, whom he had stolen, 
 to be sure, but only because he valued her so much 
 after she should have departed. I know not how 
 many kind things she might have said to the disconsolate 
 king of the mines, had not Quicksilver hurried her away. 
 
 "Come along quickly," whispered he in her ear, "or 
 His Majesty may change his royal mind. And take 
 care, above all things, that you say nothing of what 
 was brought you on the golden salver." 
 
 In a very short time they had passed the great gate- 
 way (leaving the three-headed Cerberus barking, and 
 yelping, and growling, with threefold din, behind them), 
 and emerged upon the surface of the earth. It was 
 delightful to behold, as Proserpina hastened along, how 
 the path grew verdant behind and on either side of her. 
 Wherever she set her blessed foot, there was at once a 
 dewy flower. The violets gushed up along the wayside. 
 The grass and the grain began to sprouf with tenfold
 
 62 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 vigour and luxuriance, to make up for the dreary months 
 that had been wasted in barrenness. The starved cattle 
 immediately set to work grazing, after their long fast, and 
 ate enormously all day, and got up at midnight to eat 
 more. But I can assure you it was a busy time of year 
 with the farmers, when they found the summer coming 
 upon them with such a rush. Nor must I forget to say 
 that all the birds in the whole world hopped about upon 
 the newly blossoming trees, and sang together in a 
 prodigious ecstasy of joy. 
 
 Mother Ceres had returned to her deserted home, and 
 was sitting disconsolately on the doorstep, with her torch 
 burning in her hand. She had been idly watching the 
 flame for some moments past, when all at once it flickered 
 and went out 
 
 "What does this mean?" thought she. "It was an 
 enchanted torch, and should have kept burning till my 
 child came back." 
 
 Lifting her eyes, she was surprised to see a sudden 
 verdure flashing over the brown and barren fields, ex- 
 actly as you may have observed a golden hue gleaming 
 far and wide across the landscape, from the just risen 
 sun. 
 
 "Does the earth disobey me?" exclaimed Mother 
 Ceres, indignantly. "Does it presume to be green, 
 when I have bidden it be barren, until my daughter 
 shall be restored to my arms?" 
 
 "Then open your arms, dear mother," cried a well- 
 known voice, "and take your little daughter into them." 
 
 And Proserpina came running, and flung herself 
 upon her mother's bosom. Their mutual transport is 
 not to be described. The grief of their separation had 
 caused both of them to shed a great many tears; and
 
 The Pomegranate Seeds 63 
 
 now they shed a great many more, because their joy 
 could not so well express itself in any other way. 
 
 When their hearts had grown a little more quiet, 
 Mother Ceres looked anxiously at Proserpina. 
 
 "My child," said she, "did you taste any food while 
 you were in King Pluto's palace?" 
 
 "Dearest mother," answered Proserpina, "I will 
 tell you the whole truth. Until this very morning, not 
 a morsel of food had passed my lips. But to-day, 
 they brought me a pomegranate (a very dry one it 
 was, and all shrivelled up, till there was little left of 
 it but seeds and skin), and having seen no fruit for so 
 long a time, and being faint with hunger, I was tempted 
 just to bite it. The instant I tasted it, King Pluto 
 and Quicksilver came into the room. I had not swal- 
 lowed a morsel; but dear mother, I hope it was no 
 harm but six of the pomegranate seeds, I am afraid, 
 remained in my mouth." 
 
 "Ah, unfortunate child, and miserable me!" exclaimed 
 Ceres. "For each of those six pomegranate seeds you 
 must spend one month of every year in King Pluto's 
 palace. You are but half restored to your mother. 
 Only six months with me, and six with that good-for- 
 nothing King of Darkness!" 
 
 "Do not speak so harshly of poor King Pluto," 
 said Proserpina, kissing her mother. "He has 
 some very good qualities; and I really think I can 
 bear to spend six months in his palace, if he will 
 only let me spend the other six with you, He certainly 
 did very wrong to carry me off; but then, as he says, 
 it was but a dismal sort of life for him, to live in that 
 great gloomy place, all alone; and it has made a 
 wonderful change in his spirits to have a little gill
 
 64 Myths Every Child Slwuld Know 
 
 to run up stairs and down. There is some comfort 
 in making him so happy; and so, upon the whole, 
 dearest mother, let us be thankful that he is not to kee> 
 me the whole year round."
 
 CHAPTER HI 
 
 THE CHIMERA 
 
 ONCE, in the old, old times (for all the strange things 
 which I tell you about happened long before anybody 
 can remember), a fountain gushed out of a hillside, in the 
 marvellous land of Greece. And, for aught I know, 
 after so many thousand years, it is still gushing out of 
 the very selfsame spot. At any rate, there was the 
 pleasant fountain, welling freshly forth and sparkling 
 adown the hillside, in the golden sunset, when a hand- 
 some young man named Bellerophon drew near its 
 margin. In his hand he held a bridle, studded with 
 brilliant gems, and adorned with a golden bit. Seeing 
 an old man, and another of middle age, and a little boy, 
 near the fountain, and likewise a maiden, who was 
 dipping up some of the water in a pitcher, he paused, 
 and begged that he might refresh himself with a 
 draught. 
 
 "This is very delicious water," he said to the maiden as 
 he rinsed and filled her pitcher, after drinking out of it. 
 " Will you be kind enough to tell me whether the fountain 
 has any name?" 
 
 "Yes; it is called the Fountain of Pirene," answered 
 the maiden; and then she added, "My grandmother 
 has told me that this clear fountain was once a beautiful 
 woman; and when her son was killed by the arrows of 
 the huntress Diana, she melted all away into tears. 
 
 65
 
 66 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 And so the water, which you find so cool and sweet, is 
 the sorrow of that poor mother's heartl" 
 
 "I should not have dreamed," observed the young 
 stranger, "that so clear a well-spring, with its gush 
 and gurgle, and its cheery dance out of the shade into the 
 sunlight, had so much as one tear-drop in its bosom! 
 And this, then, is Pirene? I thank you, pretty maiden, 
 for telling me its name. I have come from a far-away 
 country to find this very spot." 
 
 A middle-aged country fellow (he had driven his 
 cow to drink out of the spring) stared hard at young 
 Bellerophon, and at the handsome bridle which he 
 carried hi his hand. 
 
 "The watercourses must be getting low, friend, in 
 your part of the world," remarked he, "if you come 
 so far only to find the Fountain of Pirene. But, pray, 
 have you lost a horse? I see you carry the bridle in 
 your hand; and a very pretty one it is with that double 
 row of bright stones upon it. If the horse was as fine 
 as the bridle, you are much to be pitied for losing him." 
 
 "I have lost no horse," said Bellerophon, with a 
 smile. "But I happen to be seeking a very famous one, 
 which, as wise people have informed me, must be found 
 hereabouts, if anywhere. Do you know whether the 
 winged horse Pegasus still haunts the Fountain of 
 Pirene, as he used to do in your forefathers' days?" 
 
 But then the country fellow laughed. 
 
 Some of you, my little friends, have probably heard 
 that this Pegasus was a snow-white steed, with beautiful 
 silvery wings, who spent most of his time on the summit 
 of Mount Helicon. He was as wild, and as swift, and as 
 buoyant, in his flight through the air, as any eagle that 
 ever soared into the clouds. There was nothing else
 
 The Chinuera 67 
 
 like him in the world. He had no mate; he never 
 had been backed or bridled by a master; and, for many a 
 long year, he led a solitary and a happy life. 
 
 Oh, how fine a thing it is to be a winged horse! Sleep- 
 ing at night, as he did, on a lofty mountain-top, and 
 passing the greater part of the day in the air, Pegasus 
 seemed hardly to be a creature of the earth. Whenever 
 he was seen, up very high above people's heads, with 
 the sunshine on his silvery wings, you would have thought 
 that he belonged to the sky, and that, skimming a little 
 too low, he had got astray among our mists and vapours, 
 and was seeking his way back again. It was very pretty 
 to behold him plunge into the fleecy bosom of a bright 
 cloud, and be lost in it, for a moment or two, and then 
 break forth from the other side. Or, in a sullen rain 
 storm, when there was a gray pavement of clouds over 
 the whole sky, it would sometimes happen that the winged 
 horse descended right through it, and the glad light of 
 the upper region would gleam after him. In another 
 instant, it is true, both Pegasus and the pleasant light 
 would be gone away together. But anyone that was 
 fortunate enough to see this wondrous spectacle felt 
 cheerful the whole day afterward, and as much longer 
 as the storm lasted. 
 
 In the summer time, and in the beautifullest of weather, 
 Pegasus often alighted on the solid earth, and, closing 
 his silvery wings, would gallop over hill and dale for 
 pastime, as fleetly as the wind. Oftener than in any 
 other place, he had been seen near the Fountain of 
 Pirene, drinking the delicious water, or rolling himself 
 upon the soft grass of the margin. Sometimes, too 
 (but Pegasus was very dainty in his food), he would crop a 
 few of the clover blossoms that happened to be sweetest
 
 68 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 To the Fountain of Pirene, therefore, people's great 
 grandfathers had been in the habit of going (as long 
 as they were youthful and retained their faith in winged 
 horses), in hopes of getting a glimpse at the beautiful 
 Pegasus. But, of late years, he had been very seldom 
 seen. Indeed, there were many of the country folks, 
 dwelling within half an hour's walk of the fountain, 
 who had never beheld Pegasus, and did not believe 
 that there was any such creature in existence. The 
 country fellow to whom Bellerophon was speaking 
 chanced to be one of those incredulous persons. 
 
 And that was the reason why he laughed. 
 
 "Pegasus, indeed!" cried he, turning up his nose 
 as high as such a flat nose could be turned up "Pegasus, 
 indeed! A winged horse, truly! Why, friend, are you 
 in your senses ? Of what use would wings be to a horse ? 
 Could he drag the plough so well, think you? To be 
 sure, there might be a little saving in the expense of 
 shoes; but then, how would a man like to see his horse 
 flying out of the stable window? yes, or whisking him 
 up above the clouds, when he only wanted to ride to 
 mill ? No, no ! I don't believe in Pegasus. There never 
 was such a ridiculous kind of a horse fowl made!" 
 
 "I have some reason to think otherwise," said Bel- 
 lerophon, quietly. 
 
 And then he turned to an old, gray man, who was 
 leaning on a staff, and listening very attentively, with 
 his head stretched forward and one hand at his ear, 
 because, for the last twenty years, he had been getting 
 rather deaf. 
 
 "And what say you, venerable sir?" inquired he. 
 "In your younger days, I should imagine, you must 
 frequently have seen the winged steed!"
 
 The Chinuera 69 
 
 "Ah, young stranger, my memory is very poor!" 
 said the aged man. "When I was a lad, if I remem- 
 ber rightly, I used to believe there was such a horse, 
 and so did everybody else. But, nowadays, I hardly 
 know what to think, and very seldom think about the 
 winged horse at all. If I ever saw the creature, it was 
 a long, long while ago; and, to tell you the truth, I 
 doubt whether I ever did see him. One day, to be 
 sure, when I was quite a youth, I remember seeing 
 some hoof tramps round about the brink of the 
 fountain. Pegasus might have made those hoof 
 marks; and so might some other horse." 
 
 "And have you never seen him, my fair maiden?" 
 asked Bellerophon of the girl, who stood with the pitcher 
 on her head, while this talk went on. "You certainly 
 could see Pegasus, if anybody can, for your eyes are 
 very bright." 
 
 "Once I thought I saw him," replied the maiden, 
 with a smile and a blush. "It was either Pegasus or a 
 large white bird, a very great way up in the air. And 
 one other time, as I was coming to the fountain with 
 my pitcher, I heard a neigh. Oh, such a brisk and 
 melodious neigh as that was! My very heart leaped 
 with delight at the sound. But it startled me, never- 
 theless; so that I ran home without filling my pitcher." 
 
 "That was truly a pity!" said Bellerophon. 
 
 And he turned to the child, whom I mentioned at 
 the beginning of the story, and who was gazing at him, 
 as children are apt to gaze at strangers, with his rosy 
 mouth wide open. 
 
 "Well, my little fellow," cried Bellerophon, playfully 
 pulling one of his curls, "I suppose you have often seen 
 the winged horse."
 
 jo Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "That I have," answered the child, very readily. 
 "I saw him yesterday, and many times before." 
 
 "You are a fine little man!" said Bellerophon, draw- 
 ing the child closer to him. "Come, tell me all 
 about it." 
 
 "Why," replied the child, "I often come here to 
 sail little boats in the fountain, and to gather pretty 
 pebbles out of its basin. And sometimes, when I look 
 down into the water, I see the image of the winged horse 
 in the picture of the sky that is there. I wish he would 
 come down, and take me on his back, and let me ride 
 him up to the moon I But, if I so much as stir to look 
 at him, he flies far away out of sight." 
 
 And Bellerophon put his faith in the child, who had 
 seen the image of Pegasus in the water, and in the maiden, 
 who had heard him neigh so melodiously, rather than 
 in the middle-aged clown, who believed only in cart 
 horses, or in the old man who had forgotten the beautiful 
 things of his youth. 
 
 Therefore, he haunted about the Fountain of Pirene 
 for a great many days afterward. He kept continually 
 on the watch, looking upward at the sky, or else down 
 into the water, hoping forever that he should see either 
 the reflected image of the winged horse, or the marvellous 
 reality. He held the bridle, with its bright gems and 
 golden bit, always ready in his hand. The rustic people 
 who dwelt in the neighbourhood, and drove their cattle 
 to the fountain to drink, would often laugh at poor 
 Bellerophon, and sometimes take him pretty severely 
 to task. They told him that an able-bodied young 
 man like himself ought to have better business than to 
 be wasting his time in such an idle pursuit. They offered 
 to sell him a horse, if he wanted one; and when Bellero-
 
 The Chimara 71 
 
 phon declined the purchase, they tried to drive a bargain 
 with him for his fine bridle. 
 
 Even the country boys thought him so very foolish 
 that they used to have a great deal of sport about him, 
 and were rude enough not to care a fig, although Bel- 
 lerophon saw and heard it. One little urchin, for exam- 
 ple, would play Pegasus, and cut the oddest imaginable 
 capers, by way of flying; while one of his schoolfellows 
 would scamper after him, holding forth a twist of bul- 
 rushes, which was intended to represent Bellerophon's 
 ornamental bridle. But the gentle child, who had seen 
 the picture of Pegasus in the water, comforted the young 
 stranger more than all the naughty boys could torment 
 him. The dear little fellow, in his play hours, often 
 sat down beside him, and, without speaking a word, 
 would look down into the fountain and up toward the 
 sky, with so innocent a faith that Bellerophon could 
 not help feeling encouraged. 
 
 Now you will, perhaps, wish to be told why it was 
 that Bellerophon had undertaken to catch the winged 
 horse. And we shall find no better opportunity to speak 
 about this matter than while he is waiting for Pegasus 
 to appear. 
 
 If I were to relate the whole of Bellerophon's pre- 
 vious adventures, they might easily grow into a very 
 long story. It will be quite enough to say that, in a 
 certain country of Asia, a terrible monster, called a 
 Chimasra, had made its appearance, and was doing 
 more mischief than could be talked about between now 
 and sunset. According to the best accounts which 1 
 have been able to obtain, this Chimaera was nearly, if 
 not quite, the ugliest and most poisonous creature, and 
 the strangest and unaccountablest, and the hardest to
 
 72 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 fight with, and the most difficult to run away from, that 
 ever came out of the earth's inside. It had a tail like 
 a boa-constrictor; its body was like I do not care what; 
 and it had three separate heads, one of which was a 
 lion's, the second a goat's, and the third an abominably 
 great snake's. And a hot blast of fire came flaming 
 out of each of its three mouths! Being an earthly mon- 
 ster, I doubt whether it had any wings; but, wings or 
 no, it ran like a goat and a lion, and wriggled along like 
 a serpent, and thus contrived to make about as much 
 speed as all the three together. 
 
 Oh, the mischief, and mischief, and mischief that 
 this naughty creature did! With its flaming breath, 
 it could set a forest on fire, or burn up a field of grain, 
 or, for that matter, a village, with all its fences and 
 houses. It laid waste the whole country round about, 
 and used to eat up people and animals alive, and cook 
 them afterward in the burning oven of its stomach. 
 Mercy on us, little children, I hope neither you nor I 
 will ever happen to meet a Chimasra! 
 
 While the hateful beast (if a beast we can anywise 
 call it) was doing all these horrible things, it so chanced 
 that Bellerophon came to that part of the world, on a 
 visit to the king. The king's name was lobates, and 
 Lycia was the country which he ruled over. Bellerophon 
 was one of the bravest youths in the world, and desired 
 nothing so much as to do some valiant and beneficent 
 deed, such as would make all mankind admire and love 
 him. In those days, the only way for a young man to 
 distinguish himself was by fighting battles, either with 
 the enemies of his country, or with wicked giants, or with 
 troublesome dragons, or with wild beasts, when he could 
 find nothing more dangerous to encounter. King lobates,
 
 The Chim&ra 73 
 
 perceiving the courage of his youthful visitor, proposed 
 to him to go and fight the Chimaera, which everybody 
 else was afraid of, and which, unless it should be soon 
 killed, was likely to convert Lycia into a desert. Bel- 
 lerophon hesitated not a moment, but assured the king 
 that he would either slay this dreaded Chimasra, or 
 perish in the attempt. 
 
 But, in the first place, as the monster was so pro- 
 digiously swift, he bethought himself that he should 
 never win the victory by fighting on foot. The wisest 
 thing he could do, therefore, was to get the very best 
 and fleetest horse that could anywhere be found. And 
 what other horse in all the world was half so fleet as 
 the marvellous horse Pegasus, who had wings as well 
 as legs, and was even more active in the air than on the 
 earth? To be sure, a great many people denied that 
 there was any such horse with wings, and said that 
 the stories about him were all poetry and nonsense. 
 But, wonderful as it appeared, Bellerophon believed 
 that Pegasus was a real steed, and hoped that he him- 
 self might be fortunate enough to find him; and, once 
 fairly mounted on his back, he would be able to fight 
 the Chimaera at better advantage. 
 
 And this was the purpose with which he had trav- 
 elled from Lycia to Greece, and had brought the beau- 
 tifully ornamented bridle in his hand. It was an en- 
 chanted bridle. If he could only succeed in putting 
 the golden bit into the mouth of Pegasus, the winged 
 horse would be submissive, and would own Bellerophon 
 for his master, and fly whithersoever he might choose 
 to turn the rein. 
 
 But, indeed, it was a weary and anxious time, while 
 Bellerophon waited and waited for Pegasus, in hopes
 
 74 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 that he would come and drink at the Fountain of Pirene. 
 He was afraid lest King lobates should imagine that he 
 had fled from the Chimaera. It pained him, too, to 
 think how much mischief the monster was doing, while 
 he himself, instead of fighting with it, was compelled 
 to sit idly poring over the bright waters of Pirene, as 
 they gushed out of the sparkling sand. And as Pegasus 
 came thither so seldom in these latter years, and scarcely 
 alighted there more than once in a lifetime, Bellerophon 
 feared that he might grow an old man, and have no 
 strength left in his arms nor courage in his heart, before 
 the winged horse would appear. Oh, how heavily 
 passes the time, while an adventurous youth is yearning 
 to do his part in life, and to gather in the harvest of his 
 renown! How hard a lesson it is to wait! Our life is 
 brief, and how much of it is spent in teaching us only this! 
 
 Well was it for Bellerophon that the gentle child had 
 grown so fond of him, and was never weary of keeping 
 him company. Every morning the child gave him a 
 new hope to put in his bosom, instead of yesterday's 
 withered one. 
 
 "Dear Bellerophon," he would cry, looking up hope- 
 fully into his face, "I think we shall see Pegasus to-day!" 
 
 And, at length, if it had not been for the little boy's 
 unwavering faith, Bellerophon would have given up all 
 hope, and would have gone back to Lycia, and have 
 done his best to slay the Chimaera without the help of 
 the winged horse. And in that case poor Bellerophon 
 would at least have been terribly scorched by the crea- 
 ture's breath, and would most probably have been killed 
 and devoured. Nobody should ever try to fight an 
 earth-born Chimaera, unless he can first get upon the 
 back of an aerial steed.
 
 The Chim<sra 75 
 
 One morning the child spoke to Bellerophon even 
 more hopefully than usual. 
 
 "Dear, dear Bellerophon," cried he, "I know not 
 why it is, but I feel as if we should certainly see Pegasus 
 to-day!" 
 
 And all that day he would not stir a step from Bel- 
 lerophon's side; so they ate a crust of bread together, 
 and drank some of the water of the fountain. In the 
 afternoon, there they sat, and Bellerophon had thrown 
 his arm around the child, who likewise had put one of 
 his little hands into Bellerophon's. The latter was lost 
 in his own thoughts, and was fixing his eyes vacantly 
 on the trunks of the trees that overshadowed the fountain, 
 and on the grapevines that clambered up among their 
 branches. But the gentle child was gazing down into 
 the water; he was grieved, for Bellerophon's sake, that 
 the hope of another day should be deceived, like so many 
 before it; and two or three quiet tear-drops fell from 
 his eyes, and mingled with what were said to be the 
 many tears of Pirene, when she wept for her slain children. 
 
 But, when he least thought of it, Bellerophon felt the 
 pressure of the child's little hand, and heard a soft, 
 almost breathless, whisper. 
 
 "See there, dear Bellerophon! There is an image 
 in the water!" 
 
 The young man looked down into the dimpling mir- 
 ror of the fountain, and saw what he took to be the 
 reflection of a bird which seemed to be flying at a great 
 height in the air, with a gleam of sunshine on its snowy 
 or silvery wings. 
 
 "What a splendid bird it must be!" said he. "And 
 how very large it looks, though it must really be flying 
 higher than the clouds!"
 
 76 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "It makes me tremble!" whispered the child. "I 
 am afraid to look up into the air! It is very beautiful, 
 and yet I dare only look at its image in the water. Dear 
 Bellerophon, do you not see that it is no bird ? It is the 
 winged horse Pegasus!" 
 
 Bellerophon's heart began to throb! He gazed 
 keenly upward, but could not see the winged creature, 
 whether bird or horse; because, just then, it had plunged 
 into the fleecy depths of a summer cloud. It was but 
 a moment, however, before the object reappeared, sink- 
 ing lightly down out of the cloud, although still at a vast 
 distance from the earth. Bellerophon caught the child 
 in his arms, and shrank back with him, so that they were 
 both hidden among the thick shrubbery which grew all 
 around the fountain. Not that he was afraid of any 
 harm, but he dreaded lest, if Pegasus caught a glimpse 
 of them, he would fly far away, and alight in some 
 inaccessible mountain-top. For it was really the winged 
 horse. After they had expected him so long, he was 
 coming to quench his thirst with the water of Pirene. 
 
 Nearer and nearer came the aerial wonder, flying in 
 great circles, as you may have seen a dove when about 
 to alight. Downward came Pegasus, in those wide, 
 sweeping circles, which grew narrower, and narrower 
 still, as he gradually approached the earth. The nigher 
 the view of him, the more beautiful he was, and the more 
 marvellous the sweep of his silvery wings. At last, with 
 so light a pressure as hardly to bend the grass about 
 the fountain, or imprint a hoof tramp in the sand of its 
 margin, he alighted, and, stooping his wild head, began 
 to drink. He drew in the water, with long and pleasant 
 sighs, and tranquil pauses of enjoyment; and then 
 another draught, and another, and another. For,
 
 The Chimcera 77 
 
 nowhere in the world, or up among the clouds, did 
 Pegasus love any water as he loved this of Pirene. And 
 when his thirst was slaked, he cropped a few of the 
 honey blossoms of the clover, delicately tasting them, 
 but not caring to make a hearty meal, because the herbage 
 just beneath the clouds, on the lofty sides of Mount 
 Helicon, suited his palate better than this ordinary grass. 
 
 After thus drinking to his heart's content, and in 
 his dainty fashion condescending to take a little food, 
 the winged horse began to caper to and fro, and dance 
 as it were, out of mere idleness and sport. There 
 never was a more playful creature made than this very 
 Pegasus. So there he frisked, in a way that it delights 
 <ne to think about, fluttering his great wings as lightly 
 as ever did a linnet, and running little races, half on 
 earth and half in air, and which I know not whether to 
 call a flight or a gallop. When a creature is perfectly 
 able to fly, he sometimes chooses to run, just for the 
 pastime of the thing; and so did Pegasus, although it 
 cost him some little trouble to keep his hoofs so near the 
 ground. Bellerophon, meanwhile, holding the child's 
 hand, peeped forth from the shrubbery, and thought that 
 never was any sight so beautiful as this, nor ever a horse's 
 eyes so wild and spirited as those of Pegasus. It seemed 
 a sin to think of bridling him and riding on his back. 
 
 Once or twice, Pegasus stopped, and snuffed the 
 air, pricking up his ears, tossing his head, and turning 
 it on all sides, as if he partly suspected some mischief 
 or other. Seeing nothing, however, and hearing no 
 sound, he soon began his antics again. 
 
 At length not that he was weary, but only idle 
 and luxurious Pegasus folded his wings, and lay down 
 on the soft green turf. But, being too full of aerial life
 
 78 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 to remain quiet for many moments together, he soon 
 rolled over on his back, with his four slender legs in the 
 air. It was beautiful to see him, this one solitary creature, 
 whose mate had never been created, but who needed no 
 companion, and, living a great many hundred years, was 
 as happy as the centuries were long. The more he did 
 such things as mortal horses are accustomed to do, the 
 less earthly and the more wonderful he seemed. Bellero- 
 phon and the child almost held their breaths, partly from 
 a delightful awe, but still more because they dreaded lest 
 the slightest stir or murmur should send him up, with the 
 speed of an arrow flight, into the farthest blue of the 
 sky. 
 
 Finally, when he had had enough of rolling over 
 and over, Pegasus turned himself about, and, indolently, 
 like any other horse, put out his fore legs, in order to 
 rise from the ground ; and Bellerophon, who had guessed 
 that he would do so, darted suddenly from the thicket, 
 and leaped astride of his back. 
 
 Yes, there he sat, on the back of the winged horse! 
 
 But what a bound did Pegasus make, when, for the 
 first time, he felt the weight of a mortal man upon 
 his loins! A bound, indeed! Before he had time to 
 draw a breath Bellerophon found himself five hundred 
 feet aloft, and still shooting upward, while the winged 
 horse snorted and trembled with terror and anger. 
 Upward he went, up, up, up, until he plunged into 
 the cold misty bosom of a cloud, at which, only a little 
 while before, Bellerophon had been gazing, and fancy- 
 ing it a very pleasant spot. Then again, out of the 
 heart of the cloud, Pegasus shot down like a thunder- 
 bolt, as if he meant to dash both himself and his rider 
 headlong against a rock. Then he went through about
 
 The Chinuzra 79 
 
 a thousand of the wildest caprioles that had ever been 
 performed either by a bird or a horse. 
 
 I cannot -tell you half that he did. He skimmed 
 straight forward, and sideways, and backward. He 
 reared himself erect, with his fore legs on a wreath of 
 mist, and his hind legs on nothing at all. He flung 
 out his heels behind, and put down his head between 
 his legs, with his wings pointing right upward. At 
 about two miles' height above the earth, he turned a 
 somerset, so that Bellerophon's heels were where his 
 head should have been, and he seemed to look down 
 into the sky, instead of up. He twisted his head about, 
 and, looking Bellerophon in the face, with fire flashing 
 from his eyes, made a terrible attempt to bite him. He 
 fluttered his pinions so wildly that one of the silver 
 feathers was shaken out, and floating earthward, was 
 picked up by the child, who kept it as long as he lived, 
 in memory of Pegasus and Bellerophon. 
 
 But the latter (who, as you may judge, was as good 
 a horseman as ever galloped) had been watching his 
 opportunity, and at last clapped the golden bit of the 
 enchanted bridle between the winged steed's jaws. 
 No sooner was this done, than Pegasus became as 
 manageable as if he had taken food all his life out of 
 Bellerophon's hand. To speak what I really feel, it 
 was almost a sadness to see so wild a creature grow 
 suddenly so tame. And Pegasus seemed to feel it so, 
 likewise. He looked round to Bellerophon, with the 
 tears in his beautiful eyes, instead of the fire that so 
 recently flashed from them. But when Bellerophon 
 patted his head, and spoke a few authoritative yet kind 
 and soothing words, another look came into the eyes 
 of Pegasus; for he was glad at heart, after so many
 
 80 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 lonely centuries, to have found a companion and a 
 master. 
 
 Thus it always is with winged horses, and with all 
 such wild and solitary creatures. If you can catch and 
 overcome them, it is the surest way to win their love. 
 
 While Pegasus had been doing his utmost to shake 
 Bellerophon off his back, he had flown a very long 
 distance; and they had come within sight of a lofty 
 mountain by the time the bit was in his mouth. Bellero- 
 phon had seen this mountain before, and knew it to be 
 Helicon, on the summit of which was the winged horse's 
 abode. Thither (after looking gently into his rider's 
 face, as if to ask leave) Pegasus now flew, and, alighting, 
 waited patiently until Bellerophon should please to 
 dismount. The young man, accordingly, leaped from 
 his steed's back, but still held him fast by the bridle. 
 Meeting his eyes, however, he was so affected by the 
 gentleness of his aspect, and by the thought of the free 
 life which Pegasus had heretofore lived, that he could 
 not bear to keep him a prisoner, if he really desired his 
 liberty. 
 
 Obeying this generous impulse he slipped the enchanted 
 bridle off the head of Pegasus, and took the bit from his 
 mouth. 
 
 "Leave me, Pegasus!" said he. "Either leave me, 
 or love me." 
 
 In an instant, the winged horse shot almost out of 
 sight, soaring upward from the summit of Mount Helicon. 
 Being long after sunset, it was now twilight on the 
 mountain-top, and dusky evening over all the country 
 round about. But Pegasus flew so high that he overtook 
 the departed day, and was bathed in the upper radiance 
 of the sun. Ascending higher and higher, he looked like
 
 The Chimara Si 
 
 a bright speck, and, at last, could no longer be seen in 
 the hollow waste of the sky. And Bellerophon was afraid 
 that he should never behold him more. But, while he 
 was lamenting his own folly, the bright speck reappeared, 
 and drew nearer and nearer, until it descended lower than 
 the sunshine; and, behold, Pegasus had come back! 
 After this trial there was no more fear of the winged 
 horse's making his escape. He and Bellerophon were 
 friends, and put loving faith in one another. 
 
 That night they lay down and slept together, with 
 Bellerophon 's arm about the neck of Pegasus, not as 
 a caution, but for kindness. And they awoke at peep 
 of day, and bade one another good-morning, each in his 
 own language. 
 
 In this manner, Bellerophon and the wondrous steed 
 spent several days, and grew better acquainted and 
 fonder of each other all the time. They went on long 
 aerial journeys, and sometimes ascended so high that the 
 earth looked hardly bigger than the moon. They visited 
 distant countries, and amazed the inhabitants, who 
 thought that the beautiful young man, on the back of the 
 winged horse, must have come down out of the sky. 
 A thousand miles a day was no more than an easy space 
 for the fleet Pegasus to pass over. Bellerophon was 
 delighted with this kind of life, and would have liked 
 nothing better than to live always in the same way, aloft 
 in the clear atmosphere; for it was always sunny weather 
 up there, however cheerless and rainy it might be in the 
 lower region. But he could not forget the horrible 
 Chimaera, which he had promised King lobates to slay. 
 So, at last, when he had become well accustomed to 
 feats of horsemanship in the air, and could manage 
 Pegasus with the least motion of his hand, and had
 
 82 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 taught him to obey his voice, he determined to attempt 
 the performance of this perilous adventure. 
 
 At daybreak, therefore, as soon as he unclosed his 
 eyes, he gently pinched the winged horse's ear, in order 
 to arouse him. Pegasus immediately started from the 
 ground, and pranced about a quarter of a mile aloft, 
 and made a grand sweep around the mountain-top, by 
 way of showing that he was wide awake, and ready for 
 any kind of an excursion. During the whole of this 
 little flight, he uttered a loud, brisk, and melodious 
 neigh, and finally came down at Bellerophon's side, as 
 lightly as ever you saw a sparrow hop upon a twig. 
 
 "Well done, dear Pegasus! well done, my sky-skimmer!" 
 cried Bellerophon, fondly stroking the horse's neck. 
 "And now, my fleet and beautiful friend, we must break 
 our fast. To-day we are to fight the terrible Chimaera." 
 
 As soon as they had eaten their morning meal, and 
 drank some sparkling water from a spring called Hip- 
 pocrene, Pegasus held out his head, of his own accord, 
 so that his master might put on the bridle. Then, with 
 a great many playful leaps and airy caperings, he showed 
 his impatience to be gone; while Bellerophon was girding 
 on his sword, and hanging his shield about his neck, and 
 preparing himself for battle. When everything was 
 ready, the rider mounted, and (as was his custom, when 
 going a long distance) ascended five miles perpendicularly, 
 so as the better to see whither he was directing his course. 
 He then turned the head of Pegasus toward the east, and 
 set out for Lycia. In their flight they overtook an eagle, 
 and came so nigh him, before he could get out of their 
 way, that Bellerophon might easily have caught him 
 by the leg. Hastening onward at this rate, it was still 
 early in the forenoon when they beheld the lofty mountains
 
 The Chimara 83 
 
 of Lycia, with their deep and shaggy valleys. If Bellero- 
 phon had been told truly, it was in one of those dismal 
 valleys that the hideous Chimaera had taken up its 
 abode. 
 
 Being now so near their journey's end, the winged 
 horse gradually descended with his rider; and they took 
 advantage of some clouds that were floating over the 
 mountain-tops, in order to conceal themselves. Hovering 
 on the upper surface of a cloud, and peeping over its 
 edge, Bellerophon had a pretty distinct view of the 
 mountainous part of Lycia, and could look into all its 
 shadowy vales at once. At first there appeared to be 
 nothing remarkable. It was a wild, savage, and rocky 
 tract of high and precipitous hills. In the more level 
 part of the country, there were the ruins of houses 
 that had been burnt, and, here and there, the carcasses of 
 dead cattle, strewn about the pastures where they had 
 been feeding. 
 
 "The Chimasra must have done this mischief," 
 thought Bellerophon. "But where can the monster 
 be?" 
 
 As I have already said, there was nothing remarkable 
 to be detected, at first sight, in any of the valleys and 
 dells that lay among the precipitous heights of the 
 mountains. Nothing at all; unless, indeed, it were 
 three spires of black smoke, which issued from what 
 seemed to be the mouth of a cavern, and clambered 
 sullenly into the atmosphere. Before reaching the 
 mountain-top, these three black smoke wreaths mingled 
 themselves into one. The cavern was almost directly 
 beneath the winged horse and his rider, at the distance 
 of about a thousand feet. The smoke, as it crept heavily 
 upward, had an ugly, sulphurous, stifling scent, which
 
 84 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 caused Pegasus to snort and Bellerophon to sneeze. 
 So disagreeable was it to the marvellous steed (who 
 was accustomed to breathe only the purest air), that he 
 waved his wings, and shot half a mile out of the range 
 of this offensive vapour. 
 
 But, on looking behind him, Bellerophon saw some- 
 thing that induced him first to draw the bridle, and 
 then to turn Pegasus about. He made a sign, which 
 the winged horse understood, and sunk slowly through 
 the air, until his hoofs were scarcely more than a man's 
 height above the rocky bottom of the valley. In front, 
 as far off as you could throw a stone, was the cavern's 
 mouth, with the three smoke wreaths oozing out of it. 
 And what else did Bellerophon behold there? 
 
 There seemed to be a heap of strange and terrible 
 creatures curled up within the cavern. Their bodies 
 lay so close together that Bellerophon could not dis- 
 tinguish them apart; but, judging by their heads, one 
 of these creatures was a huge snake, the second a fierce 
 lion, and the third an ugly goat. The lion and the goat 
 were asleep; the snake was broad awake, and kept 
 staring around him with a great pair of fiery eyes. But 
 and this was the most wonderful part of the matter the 
 three spires of smoke evidently issued from the nostrils 
 of these three heads! So strange was the spectacle, that, 
 though Bellerophon had been all along expecting it, the 
 truth did not immediately occur to him, that here was the 
 terrible three-headed Chimaera. He had found out the 
 Chimaera's cavern. The snake, the lion, and the goat, 
 as he supposed them to be, were not three separate 
 creatures, but one monster! 
 
 The wicked, hateful thing! Slumbering as two-thirds 
 ri it were, it still held, in its abominable claws, the
 
 The Chinuera 85 
 
 remnant of an unfortunate Iamb or possibly (but I 
 hate to think so) it was a dear little boy which its three 
 mouths had been gnawing, before two of them fell asleep I 
 
 All at once, Bellerophon started as from a dream, and 
 knew it to be the Chimaera. Pegasus seemed to know it, 
 at the same instant, and sent forth a neigh that sounded 
 like the call of a trumpet to battle. At this sound the 
 three heads reared themselves erect, and belched out 
 great flashes of flame. Before Bellerophon had time to 
 consider what to do next, the monster flung itself out of 
 the cavern and sprung straight toward him, with its 
 immense claws extended, and its snaky tail twisting 
 itself venomously behind. If Pegasus had not been as 
 nimble as a bird, both he and his rider would have been 
 overthrown by the Chimaera's headlong rush, and thus 
 the battle have been ended before it was well begun. 
 But the winged horse was not to be caught so. In the 
 twinkling of an eye he was up aloft, half way to the clouds, 
 snorting with anger. He shuddered, too, not with 
 affright, but with utter disgust at the loathsomeness of 
 this poisonous thing with three heads. 
 
 The Chimaera, on the other hand, raised itself up so 
 as to stand absolutely on the tip end of its tail, with 
 its talons pawing fiercely in the air, and its three heads 
 sputtering fire at Pegasus and his rider. My stars 
 how it roared, and hissed, and bellowed! Bellerophon, 
 meanwhile, was fitting his shield on his arm, and drawing 
 his sword. 
 
 "Now, my beloved Pegasus," he whispered in the 
 winged horse's ear, "thou must help me to slay this 
 insufferable monster; or else thou shalt fly back to thy 
 solitary mountain peak without thy friend Bellerophon. 
 For either the Chimaera dies, or its three mouths shall
 
 86 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 gnaw this head of mine, which has slumbered upon thy 
 neck!" 
 
 Pegasus whinnied, and, turning back his head, rubbed 
 his nose tenderly against his rider's cheek. It was his 
 way of telling him that, though he had wings and was 
 an immortal horse, yet he would perish, if it were possible 
 lor immortality to perish, rather than leave Bellerophon 
 behind. 
 
 "I thank you, Pegasus," answered Bellerophon. 
 "Now, then, let us make a dash at the monster 1" 
 
 Uttering these words, he shook the bridle ; and Pegasus 
 darted down aslant, as swift as the flight of an arrow, 
 right toward the Chimaera's threefold head, which, all 
 this time, was poking itself as high as it could into the 
 air. As he came within arm's length, Bellerophon 
 made a cut at the monster, but was carried onward 
 by his steed, before he could see whether the blow had 
 been successful. Pegasus continued his course, but soon 
 wheeled round, at about the same distance from the 
 Chimaera as before. Bellerophon then perceived that 
 he had cut the goat's head of the monster almost off, so 
 that it dangled downward by the skin, and seemed quite 
 dead. 
 
 But, to make amends, the snake's head and the lion's 
 head had taken all the fierceness of the dead one into 
 themselves, and spit flame, and hissed, and roared, with a 
 vast deal more fury than before. 
 
 "Never mind, my brave Pegasus!" cried Bellerophon. 
 "With another stroke like that, we will stop either its 
 hissing or its roaring." 
 
 And again he shook the bridle. Dashing aslant- 
 wise, as before, the winged horse made another arrow- 
 flight toward the Chimaera, and Bellerophon aimed
 
 The Chimcera 87 
 
 another downright stroke at one of the two remaining 
 heads, as he shot by. But this time, neither he nor 
 Pegasus escaped so well as at first. With one of its 
 claws, the Chimaera had given the young man a deep 
 scratch in his shoulder, and had slightly damaged the 
 left wing of the flying steed with the other. On his 
 part, Bellerophon had mortally wounded the lion's 
 head of the monster, insomuch that it now hung down- 
 ward, with its fire almost extinguished, and sending 
 out gasps of thick black smoke. The snake's head, 
 however (which was the only one now left), was twice 
 as fierce and venomous as ever before. It belched 
 forth shoots of fire five hundred yards long, and emitted 
 hisses so loud, so harsh, and so ear-piercing, that King 
 lobates heard them, fifty miles off, and trembled till the 
 throne shook under him. 
 
 "Well-a-day!" thought the poor king; "the Chimaera 
 is certainly coming to devour me I" 
 
 Meanwhile Pegasus had again paused in the air, 
 and neighed angrily, while sparkles of a pure crystal 
 flame darted out of his eyes. How unlike the lurid 
 fire of the Chimasra! The aerial steed's spirit was all 
 aroused, and so was that of Bellerophon. 
 
 "Dost thou bleed, my immortal horse?" cried the 
 young man, caring less for his own hurt than for the 
 anguish of this glorious creature, that ought never to 
 have tasted pain. "The execrable Chimcera shall pay 
 for this mischief with his last head!" 
 
 Then he shook the bridle, shouted loudly, and guided 
 Pegasus, not aslantwise as before, but straight at the 
 monster's hideous front. So rapid was the onset that 
 it seemed but a dazzle and a flash before Bellerophon 
 was at close gripes with his enemy.
 
 88 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 The Chimaera, by this time, after losing its second 
 head, had got into a red-hot passion of pain and ram- 
 pant rage. It so flounced about, half on earth and 
 partly in the air, that it was impossible to say which 
 element it rested upon. It opened its snake jaws to 
 such an abominable width, that Pegasus might almost, 
 I was going to say, have flown right down its throat, 
 wings outspread, rider and all! At their approach it 
 shot out a tremendous blast of its fiery breath, and envel- 
 oped Bellerophon and his steed in a perfect atmosphere 
 of flame, singeing the wings of Pegasus, scorching off 
 one whole side of the young man's golden ringlets, and 
 making them both far hotter than was comfortable, from 
 head to foot. 
 
 But this was nothing to what followed. 
 
 When the airy rush of the winged horse had brought 
 him within the distance of a hundred yards, the Chimaera 
 gave a spring, and flung its huge, awkward, venomous, 
 and utterly detestable carcass right upon poor Pegasus, 
 clung round him with might and main, and tied up its 
 snaky tail into a knot! Up flew the aerial steed, higher, 
 higher, higher, above the mountain-peak, above the 
 clouds, and almost out of sight of the solid earth. But 
 still the earth-born monster kept its hold, and was borne 
 upward, along with the creature of light and air. Bel- 
 lerophon, meanwhile, turning about, found himself face 
 to face with the ugly grimness of the Chimaera's visage, 
 and could only avoid being scorched to death, or bitten 
 right in twain, by holding up his shield. Over the upper 
 edge of the shield, he looked sternly into the savage eyes 
 of the monster. 
 
 But the Chimaera was so mad and wild with pain 
 that it did not guard itself so well as might else have
 
 The Chimara 89 
 
 been the case. Perhaps, after all, the best way to fight 
 a Chimaera is by getting as close to it as you can. In 
 its efforts to stick its horrible iron claws into its enemy 
 the creature left its own breast quite exposed; and per- 
 ceiving this, Bellerophon thrust his sword up to the hilt 
 into its cruel heart. Immediately the snaky tail untied 
 its knot. The monster let go its hold of Pegasus, and 
 fell from that vast height downward; while the fire 
 within its bosom, instead of being put out, burned 
 fiercer than ever, and quickly began to consume the 
 dead carcass. Thus it fell out of the sky, all a-flame, 
 and (it being nightfall before it reached the earth) was 
 mistaken for a shooting star or a comet. But, at early 
 sunrise, some cottagers were going to their day's labour, 
 and saw, to their astonishment, that several acres of 
 ground were strewn with black ashes. In the middle 
 of a field, there was a heap of whitened bones, a great 
 deal higher than a haystack. Nothing else was ever 
 seen of the dreadful Chimaera! 
 
 And when Bellerophon had won the victory, he bent 
 forward and kissed Pegasus, while the tears stood in 
 his eyes. 
 
 "Back now, my beloved steed 1" said he. "Back 
 to the Fountain of Pirene!" 
 
 Pegasus skimmed through the air, quicker than ever 
 he did before, and reached the fountain in a very short 
 time. And there he found the old man leaning on his 
 staff, and the country fellow watering his cow, and the 
 pretty maiden filling her pitcher. 
 
 "I remember now," quoth the old man, "I saw this 
 winged horse once before, when I was quite a lad. But 
 he was ten times handsomer in those days." 
 
 "I own a cart horse worth three of him!" said the
 
 9 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 country fellow. "If this pony were mine, the first thing 
 I should do would be to clip his wings!" 
 
 But the poor maiden said nothing, for she had always 
 the luck to be afraid at the wrong time. So she ran 
 away, and let her pitcher tumble down, and broke it. 
 
 "Where is the gentle child," asked Bellerophon, "who 
 used to keep me company, and never lost his faith, and 
 never was weary of gazing into the fountain?" 
 
 "Here am I, dear Bellerophon!" said the child, softly. 
 
 For the little boy had spent day after day on the 
 margin of Pirene, waiting for his friend to come back; 
 but when he perceived Bellerophon descending through 
 the clouds, mounted on the winged horse, he had shrunk 
 back into the shrubbery. He was a delicate and tender 
 child, and dreaded lest the old man and the country 
 fellow should see the tears gushing from his eyes. 
 
 "Thou hast won the victory," said he, joyfully, run- 
 ning to the knee of Bellerophon, who still sat on the 
 back of Pegasus. "I knew thou wouldst." 
 
 "Yes, dear child!" replied Bellerophon, alighting 
 from the winged horse. "But if thy faith had not 
 helped me, I should never have waited for Pegasus, 
 and never have gone up above the clouds, and never 
 have conquered the terrible Chimaera. Thou, my be- 
 loved little friend, hast done it all. And now let us 
 give Pegasus his liberty." 
 
 So he slipped off the enchanted bridle from the head 
 of the marvellous steed. 
 
 "Be free, forevermore, my Pegasus!" cried he, with 
 a shade of sadness in his tone. "Be as free as thou 
 art fleet!" 
 
 But Pegasus rested his head on Bellerophon's shoul- 
 der, and would not be persuaded to take flight
 
 The Chinuera 91 
 
 "Wefl then," said Bellerophon, caressing the airy 
 horse, "thou shalt be with me as long as thou wilt; 
 and we will go together, forthwith, and tell King lobates 
 that the Chimasra is destroyed." 
 
 Then Bellerophon embraced the gentle child, and 
 promised to come to him again, and departed. But, in 
 after years, that child took higher flights upon the aerial 
 steed than ever did Bellerophon, and achieved more hon- 
 ourable deeds than his friend's victory over the Chimaera. 
 For, gentle and tender as he was, he grew to be a mighty 
 poet!
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE GOLDEN TOUCH 
 
 ONCE upon a time, there lived a very rich man, and a 
 king besides, whose name was Midas; and he had a 
 little daughter, whom nobody but myself ever heard of, 
 and whose name I either never knew, or have entirely 
 forgotten. So, because I love odd names for little girls, 
 I choose to call her Mary gold. 
 
 This King Midas was fonder of gold than of any- 
 thing else in the world. He valued his royal crown 
 chiefly because it was composed of that precious metal. 
 If he loved anything better, or half so well, it was the 
 one little maiden who played so merrily around her 
 father's footstool. But the more Midas loved his 
 daughter, the more did he desire and seek for wealth. 
 He thought, foolish man! that the best thing he could 
 possibly do for this dear child would be to bequeath 
 her the immensest pile of yellow, glistening coin, that 
 had ever been heaped together since the world was 
 made. Thus, he gave all his thoughts and all his time 
 to this one purpose. If ever he happened to gaze for 
 an instant at the gold-tinted clouds of sunset, he wished 
 that they were real gold, and that they could be squeezed 
 safely into his strong box. When little Marygold ran 
 to meet him, with a bunch of buttercups and dandelions, 
 he used to say, "Poh, poh, child 1 If these flowers were as 
 golden as they look, they would be worth the plucking I" 
 
 9*
 
 The Golden Touch 93 
 
 And yet, in his earlier days, before he was so entirely 
 possessed of this insane desire for riches, King Midas 
 had shown a great taste for flowers. He had planted a 
 garden, in which grew the biggest and beautifullest and 
 sweetest roses that any mortal ever saw or smelt. These 
 roses were still growing in the garden, as large, as lovely, 
 and as fragrant as when Midas used to pass whole hours 
 in gazing at them, and inhaling their perfume. But 
 now, if he looked at them at all, it was only to calculate 
 how much the garden would be worth if each of the 
 innumerable rose petals were a thin plate of gold. And 
 though he once was fond of music (in spite of an idle 
 story about his ears, which were said to resemble those 
 of an ass), the only music for poor Midas, now, was the 
 chink of one coin against another. 
 
 At length (as people always grow more and more 
 foolish, unless they take care to grow wiser and wiser), 
 Midas had got to be so exceedingly unreasonable that 
 he could scarcely bear to see or touch any object that 
 was not gold. He made it his custom, therefore, to 
 pass a large portion of every day in a dark and dreary 
 apartment, under ground, at the basement of his pal- 
 ace. It was here that he kept his wealth. To this 
 dismal hole for it was little better than a dungeon 
 Midas betook himself, whenever he wanted to be par- 
 ticularly happy. Here, after carefully locking the door, 
 he would take a bag of gold coin, or a gold cup as big 
 as a washbowl, or a heavy golden bar, or a peck measure 
 of gold dust, and bring them from the obscure corners 
 of the room into the one bright and narrow sunbeam 
 that fell from the dungeon-like window. He valued the 
 sunbeam for no other reason but that his treasure would 
 not shine without its help. And then would he reckon
 
 94 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 over the coins in the bag; toss up the bar, and catch It 
 as it came down; sift the gold dust through his fingers; 
 look at the funny image of his own face, as reflected 
 in the burnished circumference of the cup, and whisper 
 to himself, "O Midas, rich King Midas, what a happy 
 man art thou!" But it was laughable to see how the 
 image of his face kept grinning at him, out of the polished 
 surface of the cup. It seemed to be aware of his foolish 
 behaviour, and to have a naughty inclination to make 
 fun of him 
 
 Midas called himself a happy man, but felt that he 
 was not yet quite so happy as he might be. The very 
 tiptop of enjoyment would never be reached, unless the 
 whole world were to become his treasure room, and be 
 filled with yellow metal which should be all his own. 
 
 Now, I need hardly remind such wise little people 
 as you are, that in the old, old times, when King Midas 
 was alive, a great many things came to pass, which we 
 should consider wonderful if they were to happen in 
 our own day and country. And, on the other hand, a 
 great many things take place nowadays, which seem not 
 only wonderful to us, but at which the people of old 
 times would have stared their eyes out. On the whole, 
 I regard our own times as the strangest of the two; but, 
 however that may be, I must go on with my story. 
 
 Midas was enjoying himself in his treasure room, 
 one day, as usual, when he perceived a shadow fall 
 over the heaps of gold; and, looking suddenly up, 
 what should he behold but the figure of a stranger, 
 standing in the bright and narrow sunbeam! It was 
 a young man, with a cheerful and ruddy face. Whether 
 it was that the imagination of King Midas threw a 
 yellow tinge over everything, or whatever the cause
 
 Th6 Golden Touch pf 
 
 might be, he could not help fancying that the smile 
 with which the stranger regarded him had a kind of 
 golden radiance in it. Certainly, although his figure 
 intercepted the sunshine, there was now a brighter gleam 
 upon all the piled-up treasures than before. Even the 
 remotest corners had their share of it, and were lighted 
 up, when the stranger smiled, as with tips of flame and 
 sparkles of fire. 
 
 As Midas knew that he had carefully turned the 
 key in the lock, and that no mortal strength could pos- 
 sibly break into his treasure room, he, of course, con- 
 cluded that his visitor must be something more than 
 mortal. It is no matter about telling you who he was. 
 In those days, when the earth was comparatively a new 
 affair, it was supposed to be often the resort of beings 
 endowed with supernatural power, and who used to 
 interest themselves in the joys and sorrows of men, 
 women, and children, half playfully and half seriously. 
 Midas had met such beings before now, and was not 
 sorry to meet one of them again. The stranger's aspect, 
 indeed, was so good humoured and kindly, if not benefi- 
 cent, that it would have been unreasonable to suspect 
 him of intending any mischief. It was far more prob- 
 able that he came to do Midas a favour. And what 
 could that favour be, unless to multiply his heaps of 
 treasure ? 
 
 The stranger gazed about the room; and when his 
 lustrous smile had glistened upon all the golden objects 
 that were there, he turned again to Midas. 
 
 "You are a wealthy man, friend Midas!" he observed, 
 "I doubt whether any other four walls, on earth, contain 
 so much gold as you have contrived to pile up in this 
 room.'-"
 
 06 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "I have done pretty well pretty well," answered 
 Midas, in a discontented tone. "But, after all, it is 
 but a trifle, when you consider that it has taken me 
 my whole life to get it together. If one could live a 
 thousand years, he might have time to grow rich I" 
 
 "What!" exclaimed the stranger. "Then you are 
 not satisfied?" 
 
 Midas shook his head. 
 
 "And pray what would satisfy you?" asked the 
 stranger. "Merely for the curiosity of the thing, I 
 should be glad to know." 
 
 Midas paused and meditated. He felt a presenti- 
 ment that this stranger, with such a golden lustre in 
 his good-humoured smile, had come hither with both 
 the power and the purpose of gratifying his utmost 
 wishes. Now, therefore, was the fortunate moment, 
 when he had but to speak, and obtain whatever possi- 
 ble, or seemingly impossible thing, it might come intc. 
 his head to ask. So he thought, and thought, and 
 thought, and heaped up one golden mountain upov* 
 another, in his imagination, without being able to imagine 
 them big enough. At last, a bright idea occurred to 
 King Midas. It seemed really as bright as the glisten- 
 ing metal which he loved so much. 
 
 Raising his head, he looked the lustrous stranger in 
 the face. 
 
 "Well, Midas," observed his visitor, "I see that 
 you have at length hit upon something that will satisfy 
 you. Tell me your wish." 
 
 "It is only this," replied Midas. "I am weary of 
 collecting my treasures with so much trouble, and behold- 
 ing the heap so diminutive, after I have done my best. 
 I wish everything that I touch to be changed to gold!"
 
 The Golden Touch 97 
 
 The stranger's smile grew so very broad, that it seemed 
 to fill the room like an outburst of the sun, gleaming 
 into a shadowy dell, where the yellow autumnal leaves 
 for so looked the lumps and particles of gold lie strewn 
 in the glow of light. 
 
 "The Golden Touch!" exclaimed he. "You cer- 
 tainly deserve credit, friend Midas, for striking out so 
 brilliant a conception. But are you quite sure that 
 this will satisfy you?" 
 
 "How could it fail?" said Midas. 
 
 "And will you never regret the possession of it?" 
 
 "What could induce me?" asked Midas. "I ask 
 nothing else, to render me perfectly happy." 
 
 ''Be it as you wish, then," replied the stranger, waving 
 his hand in token of farewell. "To-morrow, at sunrise, 
 you will find yourself gifted with the Golden Touch." 
 
 The figure of the stranger then became exceedingly 
 brightj and Midas involuntarily closed his eyes. On 
 opening them again, he beheld only one yellow sun- 
 beam in the room, and, all around him, the glistening 
 of the precious metal which he had spent his life in 
 hoarding up. 
 
 Whether Midas slept as usual that night, the story 
 does not say. Asleep or awake, however, his mind 
 was probably in the state of a child's, to whom a beau- 
 tiful new plaything has been promised in the morning. 
 At any rate, day had hardly peeped over the hills, when 
 King Midas was broad awake, and, stretching his arms 
 out of bed, began to touch the objects that were within 
 reach. He was anxious to prove whether the Golden 
 Touch had really come, according to the stranger's 
 promise. So he laid his finger on a chair by the bedside, 
 and on various other things, but was grievously dis-
 
 98 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 appointed to perceive that they remained of exactly the 
 same substance as before. Indeed, he felt very much 
 afraid that he had only dreamed about the lustrous 
 stranger, or else that the latter had been making game 
 of him. And what a miserable affair would it be, if, 
 after all his hopes, Midas must content himself with 
 what little gold he could scrape together by ordinary 
 means, instead of creating it by a touch! 
 
 All this while, it was only the gray of the morning, 
 with but a streak of brightness along the edge of the 
 sky, where Midas could not see it. He lay in a very 
 disconsolate mood, regretting the downfall of his hopes 
 and kept growing sadder and sadder, until the earliest 
 sunbeam shone through the window, and gilded the 
 ceiling over his head. It seemed to Midas that this 
 bright yellow sunbeam was reflected in rather a singular 
 way on the white covering of the bed. Looking more 
 closely, what was his astonishment and delight, when 
 he found that this linen fabric had been transmuted to 
 what seemed a woven texture of the purest and brightest 
 gold! The Golden Touch had come to him with the 
 first sunbeam! 
 
 Midas started up, in a kind of joyful frenzy, and ran 
 about the room, grasping at everything that happened 
 to be in his way. He seized one of the bedposts, and it 
 became immediately a fluted golden pillar. He pulled 
 aside a window curtain, in order to admit a clear spectacle 
 of the wonders which he was performing; and the tassel 
 grew heavy in his hand a mass of gold. He took up a 
 book from the table. At his first touch, it assumed the 
 appearance of such a splendidly bound and gilt-edged 
 volume as one often meets with, nowadays; but, on 
 running his fingers through the leaves, behold! it was a
 
 The Golden Touch 99 
 
 bundle of thin golden plates, in which all the wisdom of 
 the book had grown illegible. He hurriedly put on his 
 clothes, and was enraptured to see himself in a magnficent 
 suit of gold cloth, which retained its flexibility and 
 softness, although it burdened him a little with its 
 weight. He drew out his handkerchief, which little 
 Marygold had hemmed for him. That was likewise 
 gold, with the dear child's neat and pretty stitches running 
 all along the border, in gold thread! 
 
 Somehow or other, this last transformation did not 
 quite please King Midas. He would rather that his 
 little daughter's handiwork should have remained just 
 the same as when she climbed his knee and put it into 
 his hand. 
 
 But it was not worth while to vex himself about a 
 trifle. Midas now took his spectacles from his pocket, 
 and put them on his nose, in order that he might see 
 more distinctly what he was about. In those days, 
 spectacles for common people had not been invented, 
 but were already worn by kings; else, how could Midas 
 have had any? To his great perplexity, however, 
 excellent as the glasses were, he discovered that he 
 could not possibly see through them. But this was 
 the most natural thing in the world; for, on taking them 
 off, the transparent crystals turned out to be plates of 
 yellow metal, and, of course, were worthless as spectacles, 
 though valuable as gold. It struck Midas as rather 
 inconvenient that, with all his wealth, he could never 
 again be rich enough to own a pair of serviceable spec- 
 tacles. 
 
 "It is no great matter, nevertheless," said he to 
 himself, very philosophically. "We cannot expect 
 *ny great good, without its being accompanied with
 
 ioo Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 some small inconvenience. The Golden Touch is 
 worth the sacrifice of a pair of spectacles, at least, if 
 not of one's very eyesight. My own eyes will serve 
 for ordinary purposes, and little Marygold will soon be 
 old enough to read to me." 
 
 Wise King Midas was so exalted by his good fortune, 
 *hat the palace seemed not sufficiently spacious to contain 
 him. He therefore went downstairs, and smiled, on 
 observing that the balustrade of the staircase became a 
 bar of burnished gold, as his hand passed over it, in his 
 descent. He lifted the doorlatch (it was brass only a 
 moment ago, but golden when his fingers quitted it), and 
 emerged into the garden. Here, as it happened, he 
 found a great number of beautiful roses in full bloom, and 
 others in all the stages of lovely bud and blossom. Very 
 delicious was their fragrance in the morning breeze. 
 Their delicate blush was one of the fairest sights in the 
 world; so gentle, so modest, and so full of sweet tran- 
 quillity, did these roses seem to be. 
 
 But Midas knew a way to make them far more precious, 
 according to his way of thinking, than roses had ever 
 been before. So he took great pains in going from 
 bush to bush, and exercised his magic touch most inde- 
 fatigably; until every individual flower and bud, and 
 even the worms at the heart of some of them, were 
 changed to gold. By the time this good work was 
 completed, King Midas was summoned to breakfast ; and 
 as the morning air had given him an excellent appetite, 
 he made haste back to the palace. 
 
 What was usually a king's breakfast in the days of 
 Midas, I really do not know, and cannot stop now to 
 investigate. To the best of my belief, however, on this 
 particular morning, the breakfast consisted of hot
 
 The Golden Touch 101 
 
 cakes, some nice little brook trout, roasted potatoes, 
 fresh boiled eggs, and coffee, for King Midas himself, 
 and a bowl of bread and milk for his daughter Marygold. 
 At all events, this is a breakfast fit to set before a king; 
 and, whether he had it or not, King Midas could not have 
 had a better. 
 
 Little Marygold had not yet made her appearance. 
 Her father ordered her to be called, and, seating himself 
 at table, awaited the child's coming, in order to begin 
 his own breakfast. To do Midas justice, he really 
 loved his daughter, and loved her so much the more this 
 morning, on account of the good fortune which had 
 befallen him. It was not a great while before he heard 
 her coming along the passageway crying bitterly. This 
 circumstance surprised him, because Marygold was one 
 of the cheerfullest little people whom you would see in a 
 summer's day, and hardly shed a thimbleful of tears in a 
 twelvemonth. When Midas heard her sobs, he deter- 
 mined to put little Marygold into better spirits, by an 
 agreeable surprise; so, leaning across the table, he 
 touched his daughter's bowl (which was a china one, with 
 pretty figures all around it), and transmuted it to gleaming 
 gold. 
 
 Meanwhile, Marygold slowly and disconsolately 
 opened the door, and showed herself with her apron 
 at her eyes, still sobbing as if her heart would break. 
 
 "How now, my little lady!" cried Midas. "Pray 
 what is the matter with you, this bright morning?" 
 
 Marygold, without taking the apron from her eyes, 
 held out her hand, in which was one of the roses which 
 Midas had so recently transmuted. 
 
 "Beautiful!" exclaimed her father. "And what is 
 there in this magnificent golden rose to make you cry?"
 
 lea Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "Ah, dear father!" answered the child, as well aw 
 her sobs would let her; "it is not beautiful, but the 
 ugliest flower that ever grew! As soon as I was dressed 
 I ran into the garden to gather some roses for you; 
 because I know you like them, and like them the better 
 when gathered by your little daughter. But, oh dear, 
 dear me. What do you think has happened ? Such a mis- 
 fortune! All the beautiful roses, that smelled so sweetly 
 and had so many lovely blushes, are blighted and spoilt! 
 They are grown quite yellow, as you see this one, and 
 have no longer any fragrance! What can have been the 
 matter with them?" 
 
 "Poh, my dear little girl pray don't cry about it!' 
 said Midas, who was ashamed to confess that he himsell 
 had wrought the change which so greatly afflicted her. 
 "Sit down and eat your bread and milk! You will find 
 it easy enough to exchange a golden rose like that (which 
 will last hundreds of years) for an ordinary one which 
 would wither in a day." 
 
 "I don't care for such roses as this!" cried Marygold. 
 tossing it contemptuously away. "It has no smell, 
 and the hard petals prick my nose!" 
 
 The child now sat down to table, but was so occupied 
 with her grief for the blighted roses that she did not 
 even notice the wonderful transmutation of her china 
 bowl. Perhaps this was all the better; for Marygold 
 was accustomed to take pleasure in looking at the queer 
 figures, and strange trees and houses, that were painted 
 on the circumference of the bowl; and these ornaments 
 were now entirely lost in the yellow hue of the metal. 
 
 Midas, meanwhile, had poured out a cup of coffee, and, 
 as a matter of course, the coffe-pot, whatever metal it 
 may have been when he took it up, was gold when he set
 
 The Golden Touch 103 
 
 ft down. He thought to himself, that it was rather an 
 extravagant style of splendour, in a king of his simple 
 habits, to breakfast off a service of gold, and began to be 
 puzzled with the difficulty of keeping his treasures 
 safe. The cupboard and the kitchen would no longer 
 be a secure place of deposit for articles so valuable as 
 golden bowls and coffee-pots. 
 
 Amid these thoughts, he lifted a spoonful of coffee to 
 his lips, and, sipping it, was astonished to perceive that, 
 the instant his lips touched the liquid, it became molten 
 gold, and, the next moment, hardened into a lump! 
 
 "Ha!" exclaimed Midas, rather aghast. 
 
 "What is the matter, father?" asked little Mary- 
 gold, gazing at him, with the tears still standing in 
 her eyes. 
 
 "Nothing, child, nothing!" said Midas. "Eat your 
 milk, before it gets quite cold." 
 
 He took one of the nice little trouts on his plate, and, 
 by way of experiment, touched its tail with his finger. 
 To his horror, it was immediately transmuted from an 
 admirably fried brook trout into a gold-fish, though 
 not one of those gold-fishes which people often keep in 
 glass globes, as ornaments for the parlour. No; but it 
 was really a metallic fish, and looked as if it had been 
 very cunningly made by the nicest goldsmith in the world. 
 Its little bones were now golden wires; its fins and tail 
 were thin plates of gold; and there were the marks of the 
 fork in it, and all the delicate, frothy appearance of a 
 nicely fried fish, exactly imitated in metal. A very pretty 
 piece of work, as you may suppose; only King Midas, 
 just at that moment, would much rather have had a 
 real trout in his dish than this elaborate and valuable 
 imitation of one.
 
 IO4 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "I don't quite see," thought he to himself, "how 1 
 am to get any breakfast I" 
 
 He took one of the smoking-hot cakes, and had 
 scarcely broken it, when, to his cruel mortification, 
 though, a moment before, it had been of the whitest 
 wheat, it assumed the yellow hue of Indian meal. To 
 say the truth, if it had really been a hot Indian cake, 
 Midas would have prized it a good deal more than he 
 now did, when its solidity and increased weight made him 
 too bitterly sensible that it was gold. Almost in despair, 
 he helped himself to a boiled egg, which immediately 
 underwent a change similar to those of the trout and the 
 cake. The egg, indeed, might have been mistaken for 
 one of those which the famous goose, in the story book, 
 was in the habit of laying; but King Midas was the only 
 goose that had had anything to do with the matter. 
 
 "Well, this is a quandary!" thought he, leaning 
 back in his chair, and looking quite enviously at little 
 Marygold, who was now eating her bread and milk 
 with great satisfaction. "Such a costly breakfast 
 before me, and nothing that can be eaten!" 
 
 Hoping that, by dint of great dispatch, he might 
 avoid what he now felt to be a considerable inconvenience, 
 King Midas next snatched a hot potato, and attempted 
 to cram it into his mouth, and swallow it in a hurry. 
 But the Golden Touch was too nimble for him. He 
 found his mouth full, not of mealy potato, but of solid 
 metal, which so burnt his tongue that he roared aloud, 
 and, jumping up from the table, began to dance and 
 stamp about the room, both with pain and affright. 
 
 "Father, dear father!" cried little Marygold, who 
 was a very affectionate child, "pray what is the matter? 
 Have you burnt your mouth?"
 
 The Golden Touch 105 
 
 "Ah, dear child," groaned Midas, dolefully, "I 
 don't know what is to become of your poor father!" 
 
 And, truly, my dear little folks, did you ever hear of 
 such a pitiable case in all your lives ? Here was literally 
 the richest breakfast that could be set before a king, and 
 its very richness made it absolutely good for nothing. 
 The poorest labourer, sitting down to his crust of bread 
 and cup of water, was far better off than King Midas, 
 whose delicate food was really worth its weight in gold. 
 And what was to be done ? Already, at breakfast, Midas 
 was excessively hungry. Would he be less so by dinner- 
 time? And how ravenous would be his appetite for 
 supper, which must undoubtedly consist of the same 
 sort of indigestible dishes as those now before him! 
 How many days, think you, would he survive a continu- 
 ance of this rich fare ? 
 
 These reflections so troubled wise King Midas, that 
 he began to doubt whether, after all, riches are the one 
 desirable thing in the world, or even the most desirable. 
 But this was only a passing thought. So fascinated 
 was Midas with the glitter of the yellow metal, that he 
 would still have refused to give up the Golden Touch 
 for so paltry a consideration as a breakfast. Just 
 imagine what a price for one meal's victuals! It would 
 have been the same as paying millions and millions of 
 money (and as many millions more as would take forever 
 to reckon up) for some fried trout, an egg, a potato, a hot 
 cake, and a cup of coffee! 
 
 "It would be quite too dear," thought Midas. 
 
 Nevertheless, so great was his hunger, and the perplexity 
 of his situation, that he again groaned aloud, and very 
 grievously, too. Our pretty Marygold could endure it no 
 longer. She sat, a moment, gazing at her father- and
 
 106 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 trying, with all the might of her little wits, to find out 
 what was the matter with him. Then, with a sweet and 
 sorrowful impulse to comfort him, she started from her 
 chair, and, running to Midas, threw her arms affection- 
 ately about his knees. He bent down and kissed her. 
 He felt that his little daughter's love was worth a thousand 
 times more than he had gained by the Golden Touch. 
 
 "My precious, precious Marygold!" cried he. 
 
 But Marygold made no answer. 
 
 Alas, what had he done? How fatal was the gift 
 which the stranger bestowed! The moment the lips 
 of Midas touched Marygold's forehead, a change had 
 taken place. Her sweet, rosy face, so full of affection 
 as it had been, assumed a glittering yellow colour, with 
 yellow tear-drops congealing on her cheeks. Her 
 beautiful brown ringlets took the same tint. Her soft 
 and tender little form grew hard and inflexible within 
 her father's encircling arms. Oh, terrible misfortune! 
 The victim of his insatiable desire for wealth, little 
 Marygold was a human child no longer, but a golden 
 statue! 
 
 Yes, there she was, with the questioning look of love, 
 grief, and pity, hardened into her face. It was the 
 prettiest and most woeful sight that ever mortal saw. 
 All the features and tokens of Marygold were there; 
 even the beloved little dimple remained in her golden 
 chin. But, the more perfect was the resemblance, the 
 greater was the father's agony at beholding this golden 
 image, which was all that was left him of a daughter. 
 It had been a favourite phrase of Midas, whenever he 
 felt particularly fond of the child, to say that she was 
 worth her weight in gold. And now the phrase had 
 become literally true. And, now, at last, when it was
 
 The Golden Touch 107 
 
 too late, he felt how infinitely a warm and tender heart, 
 that loved him, exceeded in value all the wealth that 
 could be piled up betwixt the earth and sky! 
 
 It would be too sad a story, if I were to tell you how 
 Midas, in the fulness of all his gratified desires, began 
 to wring his hands and bemoan him c elf; and how he 
 could neither bear to look at Marygold, nor yet to look 
 away from her. Except when his eyes were fixed on 
 the image, he could not possibly believe that she was 
 changed to gold. But, stealing another glance, there 
 was the precious little figure, with a yellow tear-drop 
 on its yellow cheek, and a look so piteous and tender, 
 that it seemed as if that very expression must needs 
 soften the gold, and make it flesh again. This, how- 
 ever, could not be. So Midas had only to Wring his 
 hands, and to wish that he were the poorest man in 
 the wide world, if the loss of all his wealth might bring 
 back the faintest rose colour to his dear child's face. 
 
 While he was in this tumult of despair, he suddenly 
 beheld a stranger standing near the door. Midas bent 
 down his head, without speaking; for he recognised 
 the same figure which had appeared to him, the day 
 before, in the treasure-room, and had bestowed on him 
 this disastrous faculty of the Golden Touch. The 
 stranger's countenance still wore a smile, which seemed 
 to shed a yellow lustre all about the room, and gleamed 
 on little Marygold's image, and on the other objects 
 that had been transmuted by the touch of Midas. 
 
 "Well, friend Midas," said the stranger, "pray how 
 do you succeed with the Golden Touch?" 
 
 Midas shook his head. 
 
 "I am very miserable," said he. 
 
 "Very miserable, indeed 1" exclaimed the stranger
 
 io8 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "And how happens that? Have I not faithfully kept 
 my promise with you? Have you not everything that 
 your heart desired?" 
 
 "Gold is not everything," answered Midas. "And 
 I have lost all that my heart really cared for." 
 
 "Ah! So you have made a discovery, since yester- 
 day ? " observed the stranger. " Let us see, then. Which 
 of these two things do you think is really worth the 
 most the gift of the Golden Touch, or one cup of clear 
 cold water?" 
 
 "O blessed water!" exclaimed Midas. "I will 
 never moisten my parched throat again!" 
 
 "The Golden Touch," continued the stranger, "or 
 a crust of bread?" 
 
 "A piece of bread," answered Midas, "is worth all 
 the gold on earth!" 
 
 "The Golden Touch," asked the stranger, "or your 
 own little Marygold, warm, soft, and loving as she was 
 an hour ago ? " 
 
 "Oh, my child, my dear child!" cried poor Midas, 
 wringing his hands. "I would not have given that 
 one small dimple in her chin for the power of changing 
 this whole big earth into a solid lump of gold!" 
 
 "You are wiser than you were, King Midas!" said 
 the stranger, looking seriously at him. "Your own 
 heart, I perceive, has not been entirely changed from 
 flesh to gold. Were it so, your case would indeed be 
 desperate. But you appear to be still capable of under- 
 standing that the commonest things, such as lie within 
 everybody's grasp, are more valuable than the riches 
 which so many mortals sigh and struggle after. Tell 
 me, now, do you sincerely desire to rid yourself of this 
 Golden Touch?"
 
 The Golden Touch 109 
 
 "It is hateful to me!" replied Midas. 
 
 A fly settled on his nose, but immediately fell to the 
 floor; for it, too, had become gold. Midas shuddered. 
 
 "Go, then," said the stranger, "and plunge into the 
 river that glides past the bottom of your garden. Take 
 likewise a vase of the same water, and sprinkle it over 
 any object that you may desire to change back again 
 from gold into its former substance. If you do this in 
 earnestness and sincerity, it may possibly repair the 
 mischief which your avarice has occasioned." 
 
 King Midas bowed low; and when he lifted his head 
 the lustrous stranger had vanished. 
 
 You will easily believe that Midas lo?t no time In 
 snatching up a great earthen pitcher (but, alas met 
 it was no longer earthen after he touched it), and hasten- 
 ing to the river-side. As he scampered along, and 
 forced his way through the shrubbery, it was positively 
 marvellous to see how the foliage turned yellow behind 
 him, as if the autumn had been there, and nowhere else. 
 On reaching the river's brink, he plunged headlong in, 
 without waiting so much as to pull off his shoes. 
 
 "Poof! poof! poof!" snorted King Midas, as his head 
 emerged out of the water. "Well; this is really a re- 
 freshing bath, and I think it must have quite washed 
 away the Golden Touch. And now for filling my 
 pitcher!" 
 
 As he dipped the pitcher into the water, it gladdened 
 his very ^eart to see it change from gold into the same 
 good, honest earthen vessel which it had been before he 
 touched it. He was conscious, also, of a change within 
 himself. A cold, hard, and heavy weight seemed 
 to have gone out of his bosom. No doubt, his heart 
 Had been gradually losing its human substance, and
 
 no Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 transmuting itself into insensible metal, but had now 
 softened back again into flesh. Perceiving a violet, 
 that grew on the bank of the river, Midas touched it with 
 his finger, and was overjoyed to find that the delicate 
 flower retained its purple hue, instead of undergoing a 
 yellow blight. The curse of the Golden Touch had, 
 therefore, really been removed from him. 
 
 King Midas hastened back to the palace; and, I 
 suppose, the servants knew not what to make of it when 
 they saw their royal master so carefully bringing home 
 an earthen pitcher of water. But that water, which was 
 to undo all the mischief that his folly had wrought, was 
 more precious to Midas than an ocean of molten gold 
 could have been. The first thing he did, as you need 
 hardly be told, was to sprinkle it by handfuls over the 
 golden figure of little Mary gold. 
 
 No sooner did it fall on her than you would have 
 laughed to see how the rosy colour came back to the 
 dear child's cheek! and how she began to sneeze and 
 sputter! and how astonished she was to find herself 
 dripping wet, and her father still throwing more water 
 over her! 
 
 "Pray do not, dear father!" cried she. "See how 
 you have wet my nice frock, which I put on only this 
 morning!" 
 
 For Marygold did not know that she had been a little 
 golden statue ; nor could she remember anything that had 
 happened since the moment when she ran with out- 
 stretched arms to comfort poor King Midas. 
 
 Her father did not think it necessary to tell his beloved 
 child how very foolish he had been, but contented himself 
 with showing how much wiser he had now grown. For 
 this purpose, he led little Marygold into the garden,
 
 The Golden Touch nx 
 
 where he sprinkled all the remainder of the water over 
 the rose-bushes, and with such good effect that above 
 five thousand roses recovered their beautiful bloom. 
 There were two circumstances, however, which, as long 
 as he lived, used to put King Midas in mind of the 
 Golden Touch. One was, that the sands of the river 
 sparkled like gold; the other, that little Marygold's hair 
 had now a golden tinge, which he had never observed in 
 it before she had been transmuted by the effect of his 
 kiss. This change of hue was really an improvement, and 
 made Marygold's hair richer than in her babyhood. 
 
 When King Midas had grown quite an old man, and 
 used to trot Marygold's children on his knee, he was 
 fond of telling them this marvellous story, pretty much 
 as I have now told it to you. And then would he stroke 
 their glossy ringlets, and tell them that their hair, like- 
 wise, had a rich shade of gold, which they had inherited 
 from their mother. 
 
 "And to tell you the truth, my precious little folks," 
 quoth King Midas, diligently trotting the children all 
 the while, "ever since that morning, I have hated the 
 very sight of all other gold, save thisl"
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE GORGON'S HEAD 
 
 PERSEUS was the son of Danae, who was the daughtet 
 of a king. And when Perseus was a very little boy, 
 some wicked people put his mother and himself into a 
 chest, and set them afloat upon the sea. The wind 
 blew freshly, and drove the chest away from the shore, 
 and the uneasy billows tossed it up and down; while 
 Danae clasped her child closely to her bosom, and 
 dreaded that some big wave would dash its foamy crest 
 over them both. The chest sailed on, however, and 
 neither sank nor was upset; until, when night was 
 coming, it floated so near an island that it got entangled 
 in a fisherman's nets, and was drawn out high and dry 
 upon the sand. The island was called Seriphus, and it 
 was reigned over by King Polydectes, who happened to 
 be the fisherman's brother. 
 
 This fisherman, I am glad to tell you, was an exceed- 
 ingly humane and upright man. He showed great 
 kindness to Danae and her little boj; and continued 
 to befriend them, until Perseus had grown to be a hand- 
 some youth, very strong and active, and skilful in the use 
 of arms. Long before this time, King Polydectes had 
 seen the two strangers the mother and her child who 
 had come to his dominions in a floating chest, fls he 
 was not good and kind, like his brother the fisherman, bu: 
 extremely wicked, he resolved to send Perseus on a 
 
 ria
 
 The Gorgon's Head 113 
 
 dangerous enterprise, in which he would probably be 
 killed, and then to do some great mischief to Danae 
 herself. So this bad-hearted king spent a long while 
 in considering what was the most dangerous thing that 
 a young man could possibly undertake to perform. At 
 last, having hit upon an enterprise that promised to turn 
 out as fatally as he desired, he sent for the youthful 
 Perseus. 
 
 The young man came to the palace, and found the 
 king sitting upon his throne. 
 
 "Perseus," said King Polydectes, smiling craftily 
 upon him, "you are grown up a fine young man. You 
 and your good mother have received a great deal of 
 kindness from myself, as well as from my worthy brother 
 the fisherman, and I suppose you would not be sorry to 
 repay some of it." 
 
 "Please, Your Majesty," answered Perseus, "I would 
 willingly risk my life to do so." 
 
 "Well, then," continued the king, still with a cunning 
 smile on his lips, "I have a little adventure to propose to 
 you; and, as you are a brave and enterprising youth, 
 you will doubtless look upon it as a great piece of good 
 luck to have so rare an opportunity of distinguishing your- 
 self. You must know, my good Perseus, I think of 
 getting married to the beautiful Princess Hippodamia; 
 and it is customary, on these occasions, to make the bride 
 a present of some far-fetched and elegant curiosity. 1 
 have been a little perplexed, I must honestly confess, 
 where to obtain anything likely to please a princess oi 
 her exquisite taste. But, this morning, I flatter myself, 
 I have thought of precisely the article." 
 
 "And can I assist Your Majesty in obtaining it?" 
 cried Perseus, eagerly.
 
 14 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "You can, if you are as brave a youth as I believe 
 you to be," replied King Polydectes, with the utmost 
 graciousness of manner. "The bridal gift which I 
 have set my heart on presenting to the beautiful Hip- 
 podamia is the head of the Gorgon Medusa with the 
 snaky locks; and I depend on you, my dear Perseus, to 
 bring it to me. So, as I am anxious to settle affairs with 
 the princess, the sooner you go in quest of the Gorgon, 
 the better I shall be pleased." 
 
 "I will set out to-morrow morning," answered Perseus. 
 
 "Pray do so, my gallant youth," rejoined the king. 
 "And, Perseus, in cutting off the Gorgon's head, be 
 careful to make a clean stroke, so as not to injure its 
 appearance. You must bring it home in the very best 
 condition, in order to suit the exquisite taste of the 
 beautiful Princess Hippodamia." 
 
 Perseus left the palace, but was scarcely out of hearing 
 before Polydectes burst into a laugh; being greatly 
 amused, wicked king that he was, to find how readily 
 the young man fell into the snare. The news quickly 
 spread abroad that Perseus had undertaken to cut off the 
 head of Medusa with the snaky locks. Everybody was 
 rejoiced; for most of the inhabitants of the island were 
 as wicked as the king himself, and would have liked 
 nothing better than to see some enormous mischief happen 
 to Danae and her son. The only good man in this un- 
 fortunate island of Seriphus appears to have been the 
 fisherman. As Perseus walked along, therefore, the 
 people pointed after him, and made mouths, and winked 
 to one another, and ridiculed him as loudly as they dared. 
 
 "Ho, ho!" cried they; "Medusa's snakes will sting 
 him soundly!" 
 
 Now, there were three Gorgons alive at that period;
 
 The Gorgon's Head 115 
 
 and they were the most strange and terrible monsters 
 that had ever been since the world was made, or that 
 have been seen in after days, or that are likely to be 
 seen in all time to come. I hardly know what sort of 
 creature or hobgoblin to call them. They were three 
 sisters, and seem to have borne some distant resemblance 
 to women, but were really a very frightful and mischievous 
 species of dragon. It is, indeed, difficult to imagine 
 what hideous beings these three sisters were. Why, 
 instead of locks of hair, if you can believe me, they had 
 each of them a hundred enormous snakes growing on 
 their heads, all alive, twisting, wriggling, curling, and 
 thrusting out their venomous tongues, with forked 
 stings at the end! The teeth of the Gorgons were terribly 
 long tusks; their hands were made of brass; and their 
 bodies were all over scales, which, if not iron, were 
 something as hard and impenetrable. They had wings, 
 too, and exceedingly splendid ones, I can assure you; 
 for every feather in them was pure, bright, glittering, 
 burnished gold, and they looked very dazzlingly, no 
 doubt, when the Gorgons were flying about in the 
 sunshine. 
 
 But when people happened to catch a glimpse of 
 their glittering brightness, aloft in the air, they seldom 
 stopped to gaze, but ran and hid themselves as speedily 
 as they could. You will think, perhaps, that they were 
 afraid of being stung by the serpents that served the 
 Gorgons instead of hair or of having their heads 
 bitten off by their ugly tusks or of being torn all to 
 pieces by their brazen claws. Well, to be sure, these 
 were some of the clangers, but by no means the greatest, 
 nor the most difficult to avoid. For the worst thing 
 about these abominable Gorgons was, that, if once a
 
 ii Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 poor mortal fixed his eyes full upon one of their faces, 
 he was certain, that very instant, to be changed from 
 warm flesh and blood into cold and lifeless stone! 
 
 Thus, as you will easily perceive, it was a very dan- 
 gerous adventure that the wicked King Polydectes had 
 contrived for this innocent young man. Perseus him- 
 self, when he had thought over the matter, could not 
 help seeing that he had very little chance of coming 
 safely through it, and that he was far more likely to 
 become a stone image than to bring back the head of 
 Medusa with the snaky locks. For, not to speak of 
 other difficulties, there was one which it would have 
 puzzled an older man than Perseus to get over. Not 
 only must he fight with and slay this golden- winged, 
 iron-scaled, long-tusked, brazen-clawed, snaky-haired 
 monster, but he must do it with his eyes shut, or, at 
 least, without so much as a glance at the enemy with 
 whom he was contending. Else, while his arm was 
 lifted to strike, he would stiffen into stone, and stand 
 with that uplifted arm for centuries, until time, and 
 the wind and weather, should crumble him quite away. 
 This would be a very sad thing to befall a young man 
 who wanted to perform a great many brave deeds, and 
 to enjoy a great deal of happiness, in this bright and 
 beautiful world. 
 
 So disconsolate did these thoughts make him, that 
 Perseus could not bear to tell his mother what he had 
 undertaken to do. He therefore took his shield, girded 
 on his sword, and crossed over from the island to the 
 mainland, where he sat down in a solitary place, and 
 hardly refrained from shedding tears. 
 
 But, while he was in this sorrowful mood, he heard 
 a voice close beside him.
 
 The Gorgon's Head 117 
 
 "Perseus," said the voice, "why are you sad?" 
 
 He lifted his head from his hands, in which he had 
 hidden it, and, behold! all alone as Perseus had sup- 
 posed himself to be, there was a stranger in the solitary 
 place. It was a brisk, intelligent, and remarkably 
 shrewd-looking young man, with a cloak over his shoul- 
 ders, an odd sort of cap on his head, a strangely twisted 
 staff in his hand, and a short and very crooked sword 
 hanging by his side. He was exceedingly light and 
 active in his figure, like a person much accustomed 
 to gymnastic exercises, and well able to leap or run. 
 Above all, the stranger had such a cheerful, knowing, 
 and helpful aspect (though it was certainly a little 
 mischievous, into the bargain), that Perseus could not 
 help feeling his spirits grow livelier as he gazed at him. 
 Besides, being really a courageous youth, he felt greatly 
 ashamed that anybody should have found him with tears 
 in his eyes, like a timid little schoolboy, when, after 
 all, there might be no occasion for despair. So Perseus 
 wiped his eyes, and answered the stranger pretty briskly, 
 putting on as brave a look as he could. 
 
 "I am not so very sad," said he, "only thoughtful 
 about an adventure that I have undertaken." 
 
 "Oho!" answered the stranger. "Well, tell me 
 all about it, and possibly I may be of service to you. 
 I have helped a good many young men through adven- 
 tures that looked difficult enough beforehand. Perhaps 
 you may have heard of me. I have more names than 
 one; but the name of Quicksilver suits me as well as any 
 other. Tell me what the trouble is, and we will talk 
 the matter over, and see what can be done." 
 
 The stranger's words and manner put Perseus into 
 quite a different mood from his rormer one. He re-
 
 n8 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 solved to tell Quicksilver all his difficulties, since he 
 could not easily be worse off than he already was, and, 
 very possibly, his new friend might give him some ad- 
 vice that would turn out well in the end. So he let the 
 stranger know, in few words, precisely what the case was, 
 how that King Polydectes wanted the head of Medusa 
 with the snaky locks as a bridal gift for the beautiful 
 Princess Hippodamia, and how that he had undertaken 
 to get it for him, but was afraid of being turned into stone. 
 
 "And that would be a great pity," said Quicksilver, 
 with his mischievous smile. "You would make a very 
 handsome marble statue, it is true, and it would be a 
 considerable number of centuries before you crumbled 
 away; but, on the whole, one would rather be a young 
 man for a few years, than a stone image for a great 
 many." 
 
 "Oh, far rather!" exclaimed Perseus, with the tears 
 again standing in his eyes. "And, besides, what would 
 my dear mother do, if her beloved son were turned into 
 a stone?" 
 
 "Well, well, let us hope that the affair will not turn 
 out so very badly," replied Quicksilver, in an encouraging 
 tone. "I am the very person to help you, if anybody 
 can. My sister and myself will do our utmost to bring 
 you safe through the adventure, ugly as it now looks." 
 
 "Your sister?" repeated Perseus. 
 
 "Yes, my sister," said the stranger. "She is very 
 wise, I promise you; and as for myself, I generally have 
 all my wits about me, such as they are. If you show 
 yourself bold and cautious, and follow our advice, you 
 need not fear being a stone image yet awhile. But, 
 first of all, you must polish your shield, till you can see 
 your face in it as distinctly as in a mirror."
 
 The Gorgon's Head 119 
 
 This seemed to Perseus rather an odd beginning of 
 the adventure; for he thought it of far more consequence 
 that the shield should be strong enough to defend him 
 from the Gorgon's brazen claws, than that it should 
 be bright enough to show him the reflection of his face. 
 However, concluding that Quicksilver knew better 
 than himself, he immediately set to work, and scrubbed 
 the shield with so much diligence and good- will, that it 
 very quickly shone like the moon at harvest time. Quick- 
 silver looked at it with a smile, and nodded his approba- 
 tion. Then, taking off his own short and crooked sword, 
 he girded it about Perseus, instead of the one which he 
 had before worn. 
 
 "No sword but mine will answer your purpose," ob- 
 served he; "the blade has a most excellent temper, and 
 will cut through iron and brass as easily as through 
 the slenderest twig. And now we will set out. The 
 next thing is to find the Three Gray Women, who will 
 tell us where to find the Nymphs." 
 
 "The Three Gray Women!" cried Perseus, to whom 
 this seemed only a new difficulty in the path of his 
 adventure; "pray who may the Three Gray Women be? 
 I never heard of them before." 
 
 "They are three very strange old ladies," said Quick- 
 silver, laughing. "They have but one eye among them, 
 and only one tooth. Moreover, you must find them out 
 by starlight, or in the dusk of the evening; for they never 
 show themselves by the light either of the sun or moon." 
 
 "But," said Perseus, "why should I waste my time 
 with these Three Gray Women? Would it not be 
 better to set out at once in search of the terrible Gor- 
 gons?" 
 
 "No, no," answered his friend. "There are other
 
 120 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 things to be done, before you can find your way to the 
 Gorgons. There is nothing for it but to hunt up these 
 old ladies; and when we meet with them, you may be 
 sure that the Gorgons are not a great way off. Come, 
 let us be stirring!" 
 
 Perseus, by this time, felt so much confidence in his 
 companion's sagacity, that he made no more objections, 
 and professed himself ready to begin the adventure im- 
 mediately. They accordingly set out, and walked at a 
 pretty brisk pace; so brisk, indeed, that Perseus found 
 it rather difficult to keep up with his nimble friend 
 Quicksilver. To say the truth, he had a singular idea 
 that Quicksilver was furnished with a pair of winged 
 shoes, which, of course, helped him along marvellously. 
 And then, too, when Perseus looked sideways at him 
 out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to see wings 
 on the side of his head; although, if he turned a full 
 gaze, there were no such things to be perceived, but only 
 an odd kind of cap. But, at all events, the twisted 
 staff was evidently a great convenience to Quicksilver, 
 and enabled him to proceed so fast, that Perseus, though 
 a remarkably active young man, began to be out of 
 breath. 
 
 "Here!" cried Quicksilver, at last for he knew 
 well enough, rogue that he was, how hard Perseus 
 found it to keep pace with him "take you the staff, 
 for you need it a great deal more than I. Are there 
 no better walkers than yourself in the island of Seriphus ? " 
 
 "I could walk pretty well," said Perseus, glancing 
 slyly at his companion's feet, "if I had only a pair of 
 winged shoes." 
 
 "We must see about getting you a pair," answered 
 Quicksilver.
 
 The Gorgon's Head 121 
 
 But the staff helped Perseus along so bravely, that 
 he no longer felt the slightest weariness. In fact, the 
 stick seemed to be alive in his hand, and to lend some 
 of its life to Perseus. He and Quicksilver now walked 
 onward at their ease, talking very sociably together; 
 and Quicksilver told so many pleasant stories about his 
 former adventures, and how well his wits had served 
 him on various occasions, that Perseus began to think 
 him a very wonderful person. He evidently knew the 
 world; and nobody is so charming to a young man as 
 a friend who has that kind of knowledge. Perseus 
 listened the more eagerly, in the hope of brightening 
 his own wits by what he heard. 
 
 At last, he happened to recollect that Quicksilver 
 had spoken of a sister, who was to lend her assistance 
 in the adventure which they were now bound upon. 
 
 "Where is she?" he inquired. "Shall we not meet 
 her soon?" 
 
 "All at the proper time," said his companion. "But 
 this sister of mine, you must understand, is quite a differ- 
 ent sort of character from myself. She is very grave and 
 prudent, seldom smiles, never laughs, and makes it a 
 rule not to utter a word unless she has something particu- 
 larly profound to say. Neither will she listen to any but 
 the wisest conversation." 
 
 "Dear me!" ejaculated Perseus; "I shall be afraid 
 to say a syllable." 
 
 "She is a very accomplished person, I assure you," 
 continued Quicksilver, "and has all the arts and sciences 
 at her fingers' ends. In short, she is so immoderately 
 wise, that many people call her wisdom personified. 
 But, to tell you the truth, she has hardly vivacity enough 
 for my taste; and I think you would scarcely find her so
 
 122 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 pleasant a travelling companion as myself. She has her 
 good points, nevertheless; and you will find the benefit 
 of them, in your encounter with the Gorgons." 
 
 By this time it had grown quite dusk. They were 
 now come to a very wild and desert place, overgrown 
 with shaggy bushes, and so silent and solitary that nobody 
 seemed ever to have dwelt or journeyed there. All was 
 waste and desolate, in the gray twilight, which grew 
 every moment more obscure. Perseus looked about him, 
 rather disconsolately, and asked Quicksilver whether 
 they had a great deal farther to go. 
 
 "Hist! hist!" whispered his companion. "Make 
 no noise! This is just the time and place to meet the 
 Three Gray Women. Be careful that they do not see 
 you before you see them; for, though they have but a 
 single eye among the three, it is as sharp sighted as half 
 a dozen common eyes." 
 
 "But what must I do," asked Perseus, "when we 
 meet them?" 
 
 Quicksilver explained to Perseus how the Three 
 Gray Women managed with their one eye. They 
 were in the habit, it seems, of changing it from one to 
 another, as if it had been a pair of spectacles, or 
 which would have suited them better a quizzing 
 glass. When one of the three had kept the eye a certain 
 time, she took it out of the socket and passed it to one 
 of her sisters, whose turn it might happen to be, and who 
 immediately clapped it into her own head, and enjoyed 
 a peep at the visible world. Thus it will easily be 
 understood that only one of the Three Gray Women 
 could see, while the other two were in utter darkness; and, 
 moreover, at the instant when the eye was passing from 
 hand to hand, neither of the poor old ladies was able to
 
 The Gorgon's Head 123 
 
 see a wink. I have heard of a great many strange things, 
 in my day, and have witnessed not a few; but none, it 
 seems to me, that can compare with the oddity of these 
 Three Gray Women, all peeping through a single eye. 
 
 So thought Perseus, likewise, and was so astonished 
 that he almost fancied his companion was joking with 
 him, and that there were no such old women in the 
 world. 
 
 "You will soon find whether I tell the truth or no," 
 observed Quicksilver. "Harkl hush! histl hist! There 
 they come, now!" 
 
 Perseus looked earnestly through the dusk of the 
 evening, and there, sure enough, at no great distance 
 off, he descried the Three Gray Women. The light 
 being so faint, he could not well make out what sort 
 of figures they were; only he discovered that they had 
 long gray hair; and, as they came nearer, he saw that 
 two of them had but the empty socket of an eye, in the 
 middle of their foreheads. But, in the middle of the 
 third sister's forehead, there was a very large, bright, and 
 piercing eye, which sparkled like a great diamond in a 
 ring; and so penetrating did it seem to be, that Perseus 
 could not help thinking it must possess the gift of seeing 
 in the darkest midnight just as perfectly as at noonday. 
 The sight of three persons' eyes was melted and collected 
 into that single one. 
 
 Thus the three old dames got along about as com- 
 fortably, upon the whole, as if they could all see at once. 
 She who chanced to have the eye in her forehead led the 
 other two by the hands, peeping sharply about her, all 
 the while ; insomuch that Perseus dreaded lest she should 
 see right through the thick clump of bushes behind which 
 he and Quicksilver had hidden themselves. My stars?
 
 124 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 ft was positively terrible to be within reach of so very 
 sharp an eye I 
 
 But, before they reached the clump of bushes, one 
 of the Three Gray Women spoke. 
 
 "Sister! Sister Scarecrow!" cried she, "you have 
 had the eye long enough. It is my turn now!" 
 
 "Let me keep it a moment longer, Sister Nightmare," 
 answered Scarecrow. "I thought I had a glimpse of 
 something behind that thick bush." 
 
 "Well, and what of that?" retorted Nightmare, 
 peevishly. "Can't I see into a thick bush as easily as 
 yourself? The eye is mine as well as yours; and I 
 know the use of it as well as you, or maybe a little 
 better. I insist upon taking a peep immediately!" 
 
 But here the third sister, whose name was Shakejoint, 
 began to complain, and said that it was her turn to have 
 the eye, and that Scarecrow and Nightmare wanted to 
 keep it all to themselves. To end the dispute, old Dame 
 Scarecrow took the eye out of her forehead, and held it 
 forth in her hand. 
 
 "Take it, one of you," cried she, "and quit this foolish 
 quarrelling. For my part, I shall be glad of a little 
 thick darkness. Take it quickly, however, or I must 
 clap it into my own head again!" 
 
 Accordingly, both Nightmare and Shakejoint put 
 out their hands, groping eagerly to snatch the eye out 
 of the hand of Scarecrow. But, being both alike blind, 
 they could not easily find where Scarecrow's hand was; 
 and Scarecrow, being now just as much in the dark as 
 Shakejoint and Nightmare, could not at once meet 
 either of their hands, in order to put the eye into it. 
 Thus (as you will see, with half an eye, my wise little 
 auditors), these good old dames had fallen into a strange
 
 The Gorgon's Head 125 
 
 perplexity. For, though the eye shone and glistened like 
 a star, as Scarecrow held it out, yet the Gray Women 
 caught not the least glimpse of its light, and were all three 
 in utter darkness, from too impatient a desire to see. 
 
 Quicksilver was so much tickled at beholding Shake- 
 joint and Nightmare both groping for the eye, and each 
 finding fault with Scarecrow and one another, that he 
 could scarcely help laughing aloud. 
 
 "Now is your time ! " he whispered to Perseus. " Quick, 
 quick 1 before they can clap the eye into either of their 
 heads. Rush out upon the old ladies, and snatch it from 
 Scarecrow's handl" 
 
 In an instant, while the Three Gray Women were 
 still scolding each other, Perseus leaped from behind 
 the clump of bushes, and made himself master of the 
 prize. The marvellous eye, as he held it in his hand, 
 shone very brightly, and seemed to look up into his 
 face with a knowing air, and an expression as if it would 
 have winked, had it been provided with a pair of eyelids 
 for that purpose. But the Gray Women knew nothing 
 of what had happened; and, each supposing that one of 
 her sisters was in possession of the eye, they began their 
 quarrel anew. At last, as Perseus did not wish to put 
 these respectable dames to greater inconvenience than 
 was really necessary, he thought it right to explain the 
 matter. 
 
 "My good ladies," said he, "pray do not be angry 
 with one another. If anybody is in fault, it is myself; 
 for I have the honour to hold your very brilliant and 
 excellent eye in my own hand!" 
 
 "You! you have our eye! And who are you?" 
 screamed the Three Gray Women, all in a breath; for 
 they were terribly frightened, of course, at hearing a
 
 126 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 strange voice, and discovering that their eyesight had 
 got into the hands of they could not guess whom. " Oh, 
 what shall we do, sisters? what shall we do? We 
 are all in the dark! Give us our eye! Give us our 
 one, precious, solitary eye! You have two of your own! 
 Give us our eye!" 
 
 "Tell them," whispered Quicksilver to Perseus, 
 '"'that they shall have back the eye as soon as they direct 
 you where to find the Nymphs who have the flying 
 slippers, the magic wallet, and the helmet of darkness." 
 
 "My dear, good, admirable old ladies," said Perseus, 
 addressing the Gray Women, "there is no occasion for 
 putting yourselves into such a fright. I am by no 
 means a bad young man. You shall have back your 
 eye, safe and sound, and as bright as ever, the moment 
 you tell me where to find the Nymphs." 
 
 "The Nymphs! Goodness me! sisters, what Nymphs 
 does he mean?" screamed Scarecrow. "There are a 
 great many Nymphs, people say; some that go a hunting 
 in the woods, and some that live inside of trees, and 
 some that have a comfortable home in fountains of 
 water. We know nothing at all about them. We 
 are three unfortunate old souls, that go wandering 
 about hi the dusk, and never had but one eye amongst 
 us, and that one you have stolen away. Oh, give it 
 back, good stranger! whoever you are, give it back!" 
 
 All this while the Three Gray Women were groping 
 with their outstretched hands, and trying their utmost to 
 get hold of Perseus. But he took good care to keep 
 out of their reach. 
 
 "My respectable dames," said he for his mother 
 had taught him always to use the greatest civility 
 "I hold your eye fast in my hand, and shal] keep it
 
 The Gorgon's Head 127 
 
 safely for you, until you please to tell me where to find 
 these Nymphs. The Nymphs, I mean, who keep the 
 enchanted wallet, the flying slippers, and the what is it ? 
 the helmet of invisibility." 
 
 "Mercy on us, sisters! what is the young man talking 
 about?" exclaimed Scarecrow, Nightmare and Shake- 
 joint, one to another, with great appearance of astonish- 
 ment. "A pair of flying slippers, quoth he! His heels 
 would quickly fly higher than his head, if he was silly 
 enough to put them on. And a helmet of invisibility! 
 How could a helmet make him invisible, unless it were 
 big enough for him to hide under it ? And an enchanted 
 wallet! What sort of a contrivance may that be, I 
 wonder? No, no, good stranger! we can tell you nothing 
 of these marvellous things. You have two eyes of your 
 own, and we have but a single one amongst us three. You 
 can find out such wonders better than three blind old 
 creatures, like us." 
 
 Perseus, hearing them talk in this way, began really 
 to think that the Gray Women knew nothing of the 
 matter; and, as it grieved him to have put them to so 
 much trouble, he was just on the point of restoring their 
 eye and asking pardon for his rudeness in snatching it 
 away. But Quicksilver caught his hand. 
 
 " Don't let them make a fool of you! " said he. " These 
 Three Gray Women are the only persons in the world 
 that can tell you where to find the Nymphs; and, unless 
 you get that information, you will never succeed in cutting 
 off the head of Medusa with the snaky locks. Keep fast 
 hold of the eye, and all will go well." 
 
 As it turned out, Quicksilver was in the right. There 
 are but few things that people prize so much as they do 
 their eyesight; and the Gray Women valued their single
 
 128 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 eye as highly as if it had been half a dozen, which was the 
 number they ought to have had. Finding that there was 
 no other way of recovering it, they at last told Perseus 
 what he wanted to know. No sooner had they done so, 
 than he immediately, and with the utmost respect, clapped 
 the eye into the vacant socket in one of their foreheads, 
 thanked them for their kindness, and bade them farewell. 
 Before the young man was out of hearing, however, they 
 had got into a new dispute, because he happened to have 
 given the eye to Scarecrow, who had already taken her 
 turn of it when their trouble with Perseus commenced. 
 
 It is greatly to be feared that the Three Gray Women 
 were very much in the habit of disturbing their mutual 
 harmony by bickerings of this sort; which was the more 
 pity, as they could not conveniently do without one 
 another, and were evidently intended to be inseparable 
 companions. As a general rule, I would advise all 
 people, whether sisters or brothers, old or young, who 
 chance to have but one eye amongst them, to cultivate 
 forbearance, and not all insist upon peeping through it 
 at once. 
 
 Quicksilver and Perseus, in the meantime, were mak- 
 ing the best of their way in quest of the Nymphs. The 
 old dames had given them such particular directions 
 that they were not long in finding them out. They proved 
 to be very different persons from Nightmare, Shake- 
 joint and Scarecrow; for, instead of being old, they were 
 young and beautiful; and instead of one eye amongst 
 the sisterhood, each Nymph had two exceedingly bright 
 eyes of her own, with which she looked very kindly at 
 Perseus. They seemed to be acquainted with Quick- 
 silver; and, when he told them the adventure which 
 Perseus had undertaken, they made no difficulty about
 
 The Gorgorfs Head 129 
 
 giving him the valuable articles that were in their custody 
 In the first place, they brought out what appeared to be 
 a small purse, made of deer skin, and curiously embroid- 
 ered, and bade him be sure and keep it safe. This was 
 the magic wallet. The Nymphs next produced a pair 
 of shoes, or slippers, or sandals, with a nice little pair of 
 wings at the heel of each. 
 
 "Put them on, Perseus," said Quicksilver. "You 
 will find yourself as light heeled as you can desire for 
 the remainder of our journey." 
 
 So Perseus proceeded to put one of the slippers on, 
 while he laid the other on the ground by his side. Unex- 
 pectedly, however, this other slipper spread its wings, 
 fluttered up off the ground, and would probably have 
 flown away, if Quicksilver had not made a leap, and 
 luckily caught it in the air. 
 
 "Be more careful," said he, as he gave it back to 
 Perseus. "It would frighten the birds, up aloft, if 
 they should see a flying slipper amongst them." 
 
 When Perseus had got on both of these wonderful 
 slippers, he was altogether too buoyant to tread on earth. 
 Making a step or two, lo and behold! upward he popped 
 into the air, high above the heads of Quicksilver and the 
 Nymphs, and found it very difficult to clamber down 
 again. Winged slippers, and all such high-flying con- 
 trivances, are seldom quite easy to manage until one 
 grows a little accustomed to them. Quicksilver laughed 
 at his companion's involuntary activity, and told him 
 that he must not be in so desperate a hurry, but must 
 wait for the invisible helmet. 
 
 The good-natured Nymphs had the helmet, with its 
 dark tuft of waving plumes, all in readiness to put upon 
 his head. And now there happened about as wonderful
 
 130 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 an incident as anything that I have yet told you. The 
 instant before the helmet was put on, there stood Perseus, 
 a beautiful young man, with golden ringlets and rosy 
 cheeks, the crooked sword by his side, and the brightly 
 polished shield upon his arm a figure that seemed all 
 made up of courage, sprightliness, and glorious light. 
 But when the helmet had descended over his white brow, 
 there was no longer any Perseus to be seen! Nothing 
 but empty air! Even the helmet, that covered him with 
 its invisibility, had vanished! 
 
 "Where are you, Perseus?" asked Quicksilver. 
 
 "Why, here, to be sure!" answered Perseus, very 
 quietly, although his voice seemed to come out of the 
 transparent atmosphere. "Just where I was a moment 
 ago. Don't you see me?" 
 
 "No, indeed!" answered his friend. "You are hidden 
 under the helmet. But, if I cannot see you, neither 
 can the Gorgons. Follow me, therefore, and we will 
 try your dexterity in using the winged slippers." 
 
 With these words, Quicksilver's cap spread its wings, 
 as if his head were about to fly away from his shoulders; 
 but his whole figure rose lightly into the air, and Perseus 
 followed. By the time they had ascended a few hundred 
 feet, the young man began to feel what a delightful 
 thing it was to leave the dull earth so far beneath him, 
 and to be able to flit about like a bird. 
 
 It was now deep night. Perseus looked upward, 
 and saw the round, bright, silvery moon, and thought 
 that he should desire nothing better than to soar up 
 thither, and spend his life there. Then he looked down- 
 ward again, and saw the earth, with its seas and lakes, 
 and the silver courses of its rivers, and its snowy mountain 
 peaks, and the breadth of its fields, and the dark cluster
 
 The Gorgon's Head 131 
 
 of its woods, and its cities of white marble; and, with 
 the moonshine sleeping over the whole scene, it was as 
 beautiful as the moon or any star could be. And, among 
 other objects, he saw the island of Seriphus, where his 
 dear mother was. Sometimes he and Quicksilver ap- 
 proached a cloud, that, at a distance, looked as if it were 
 made of fleecy silver; although, when they plunged into 
 it, they found themselves chilled and moistened with 
 gray mist. So swift was their flight, however, that, in 
 an instant, they emerged from the cloud into the moon- 
 light again. Once, a high-soaring eagle flew right against 
 the invisible Perseus. The bravest sights were the 
 meteors, that gleamed suddenly out, as if a bonfire had 
 been kindled in the sky, and made the moonshine pale 
 for as much as a hundred miles around them. 
 
 As the two companions flew onward, Perseus fancied 
 that he could hear the rustle of a garment close by his 
 side; and it was on the side opposite to the one where 
 he beheld Quicksilver, yet only Quicksilver was visible. 
 
 "Whose garment is this," inquired Perseus, "that 
 keeps rustling close beside me in the breeze?" 
 
 "Oh, it is my sister's!" answered Quicksilver. "She 
 is coming along with us, as I told you she would. We 
 could do nothing without the help of my sister. You 
 have no idea how wise she is. She has such eyes, too! 
 Why, she can see you, at this moment, just as distinctly 
 as if you were not invisible; and I'll venture to say, she 
 will be the first to discover the Gorgons." 
 
 By this time, in their swift voyage through the air, 
 they had come within sight of the great ocean, and were 
 soon flying over it. Far beneath them, the waves tossed 
 themselves tumultuously in mid-sea, or rolled a white 
 surf line upon the long beaches, or foamed against the
 
 132 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 rocky cliffs, with a roar that was thunderous, in the lower 
 world; although it became a gentle murmur, like the 
 voice of a baby half asleep, before it reached the ears of 
 Perseus. Just then a voice spoke in the air close by him. 
 It seemed to be a woman's voice, and was melodious, 
 though not exactly what might be called sweet, but 
 grave and mild. 
 
 "Perseus," said the voice, "there are the Gorgons." 
 
 "Where?" exclaimed Perseus. "I cannot see them." 
 
 "On the shore of that island beneath you," replied 
 
 the voice. "A pebble, dropped from your hand, would 
 
 strike in the midst of them." 
 
 "I told you she would be the first to discover them," 
 said Quicksilver to Perseus. "And there they are!" 
 
 Straight downward, two or three thousand feet below 
 him, Perseus perceived a small island, with the sea 
 breaking into white foam all around its rocky shore, 
 except on one side, where there was a beach of snowy 
 sand. He descended toward it, and, looking earnestly 
 at a cluster or heap of brightness, at the foot of a preci- 
 pice of black rocks, behold, there were the terrible 
 Gorgons! They lay fast asleep, soothed by the thunder 
 of the sea; for it required a tumult that would have 
 deafened everybody else to lull such fierce creatures 
 into slumber. The moonlight glistened on their steely 
 scales, and on their golden wings, which drooped idly 
 over the sand. Their brazen claws, horrible to look at, 
 were thrust out, and clutched the wave-beaten frag- 
 ments of rock, while the sleeping Gorgons dreamed of 
 tearing some poor mortal all to pieces. The snakes 
 that served them instead of hair seemed likewise to be 
 asleep; although, now and then, one would writhe, 
 and lift its head, and thrust out its forked tongue, emitting
 
 The Gorgon's Head 133 
 
 a drowsy hiss, and then let itself subside among its sister 
 snakes. 
 
 The Gorgons were more like an awful, gigantic kind 
 of insect immense, golden-winged beetles., or dragon- 
 flies, or things of that sort at once ugly and beautiful 
 than like anything else; only that they were a thousand 
 and a million times as big. And, with all this, there was 
 something partly human about them, too. Luckily for 
 Perseus, their faces were completely hidden from him 
 by the posture in which they lay; for, had he but looked 
 one instant at them, he would have fallen heavily out 
 of the air, an image of senseless stone. 
 
 "Now," whispered Quicksilver, as he hovered by the 
 side of Perseus "now is your time to do the deed! 
 Be quick; for, if one of the Gorgons should awake, you 
 are too late!" 
 
 "Which shall I strike at?" asked Perseus, drawing 
 his sword and descending a little lower. "They all 
 three look alike. All three have snaky locks. Which 
 of the three is Medusa?" 
 
 It must be understood that Medusa was the only 
 one of these dragon monsters whose head Perseus could 
 possibly cut off. As for the other two, let him have 
 the sharpest sword that ever was forged, and he might 
 have hacked away by the hour together, without doing 
 them the least harm. 
 
 "Be cautious," said the calm voice which had before 
 spoken to him. "One of the Gorgons is stirring in 
 her sleep, and is just about to turn over. That is Medusa. 
 Do not look at her! The sight would turn you to stone! 
 Look at the reflection of her face and figure in the bright 
 mirror of your shield." 
 
 Perseus now understood Quicksilver's motive for so
 
 earnestly exhorting him to polish his shield. In it3 
 surface he could safely look at the reflection of the Gor- 
 gon's face. And there it was that terrible counte- 
 nance mirrored in the brightness of the shield, with 
 the moonlight falling over it, and displaying all its 
 horror. The snakes, whose venomous natures could 
 not altogether sleep, kept twisting themselves over the 
 forehead. It was the fiercest and most horrible face 
 that ever was seen or imagined, and yet with a strange, 
 fearful, and savage kind of beauty in it. The eyes 
 were closed, and the Gorgon was still in a deep slum- 
 ber; but there was an unquiet expression disturbing 
 her features, as if the monster was troubled with an 
 ugly dream. She gnashed her white tusks, and dug 
 into the sand with her brazen claws. 
 
 The snakes, too, seemed to feel Medusa's dream, and 
 to be made more restless by it. They twined them- 
 selves into tumultuous knots, writhed fiercely, and 
 uplifted a hundred hissing heads, without opening their 
 eyes. 
 
 "Now, now!" whispered Quicksilver, who was grow- 
 ing impatient. "Make a dash at the monster!" 
 
 "But be calm," said the grave, melodious voice at 
 the young man's side. "Look in your shield, as you 
 fly downward, and take care that you do not miss your 
 first stroke." 
 
 Perseus flew cautiously downward, still keeping his 
 eyes on Medusa's face, as reflected in his shield. The 
 nearer he came, the more terrible did the snaky visage 
 and metallic body of the monster grow. At last, when 
 he found himself hovering over her within arm's length, 
 Perseus uplifted his sword, while, at the same instant, 
 each separate snake upon the Gorgon's head stretched
 
 The Gorgon's Head 135 
 
 threateningly upward, and Medusa unclosed her eyes. 
 But she awoke too late. The sword was sharp; the 
 stroke fell like a lightning flash; and the head of the 
 wicked Medusa tumbled from her bodyl 
 
 "Admirably done!" cried Quicksilver. "Make haste, 
 and clap the head into your magic wallet." 
 
 To the astonishment of Perseus, the small, embroidered 
 wallet, which he had hung about his neck, and which 
 had hitherto been no bigger than a purse, grew all at 
 once large enough to contain Medusa's head. As quick 
 as thought, he snatched it up, with the snakes still writh- 
 ing upon it, and thrust it in. 
 
 "Your task is done," said the calm voice. "Now 
 fly; for the other Gorgons will do their utmost to take 
 vengeance for Medusa's death." 
 
 It was, indeed, necessary to take flight; for Perseus 
 had not done the deed so quietly but that the clash of 
 his sword, and the hissing of the snakes, and the thump 
 of Medusa's head as it tumbled upon the sea-beaten 
 sand, awoke the other two monsters. There they sat, 
 for an instant, sleepily rubbing their eyes with their 
 brazen fingers, while all the snakes on their heads reared 
 themselves on end with surprise, and with venomous 
 malice against they knew not what. But when the 
 Gorgons saw the scaly carcass of Medusa, headless, 
 and her golden wings all ruffled, and half spread out 
 on the sand, it was really awful to hear what yells and 
 screeches they set up. And then the snakes! They 
 sent forth a hundredfold hiss, with one consent, and 
 Medusa's snakes answered them out of the magic wallet. 
 
 No sooner were the Gorgons broad awake than they 
 hurtled upward into the air, brandishing their brass 
 talons, gnashing their horrible tusks, and flapping their
 
 136 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 huge wings so wildly, that some of the golden feathers 
 were shaken out, and floated down upon the shore. And 
 there, perhaps, those very feathers lie scattered till 
 this day. Up rose the Gorgons, as I tell you, staring 
 horribly about, in hopes of turning somebody to stone. 
 Had Perseus looked them in the face, or had he fallen 
 into their clutches, his poor mother would never have 
 kissed her boy again! But he took good care to turn 
 his eyes another way; and, as he wore the helmet of 
 invisibility, the Gorgons knew not in what direction 
 to follow him; nor did he fail to make the best use of 
 the winged slippers, by soaring upward a perpendicular 
 mile or so. At that height, when the screams of those 
 abominable creatures sounded faintly beneath him, he 
 made a straight course for the island of Seriphus, in 
 order to carry Medusa's head to King Polydectes. 
 
 I have no time to tell you of several marvellous things 
 that befell Perseus on his way homeward; such as his 
 killing a hideous sea monster, just as it was on the point 
 of devouring a beautiful maiden; nor how he changed 
 an enormous giant into a mountain of stone, merely by 
 showing him the head of the Gorgon. If you doubt 
 this latter story, you may make a voyage to Africa, some 
 day or other, and see the very mountain, which is still 
 known by the ancient giant's name. 
 
 Finally, our brave Perseus arrived at the island, 
 where he expected to see his dear mother. But, dur- 
 ing his absence, the wicked king had treated Danae 
 so very ill that she was compelled to make her escape, 
 and had taken refuge in a temple, where some good 
 old priests were extremely kind to her. These praise- 
 worthy priests, and the kind-hearted fisherman, who 
 had first shown hospitality to Danae and little Perseus
 
 The Gorgon's Head 137 
 
 when he found them afloat in the chest, seem to have 
 been the only persons on the island who cared about 
 doing right. All the rest of the people, as well as King 
 Polydectes himself, were remarkably ill behaved, and 
 deserved no better destiny than that which was now to 
 happen. 
 
 Not finding his mother at home, Perseus went straight 
 to the palace, and was immediately ushered into the 
 presence of the king. Polydectes was by no means 
 rejoiced to see him; for he had felt almost certain, in 
 his own evil mind, that the Gorgons would have torn 
 the poor young man to pieces, and have eaten him up, 
 out of the way. However, seeing him safely returned, 
 he put the best face he could upon the matter and asked 
 Perseus how he had succeeded. 
 
 "Have you performed your promise?" inquired he. 
 "Have you brought me the head of Medusa with the 
 snaky locks ? If not, young man, it will cost you dear; 
 for I must have a bridal present for the beautiful Prin- 
 cess Hippodamia, and there is nothing else that she would 
 admire so much." 
 
 "Yes, please Your Majesty," answered Perseus, in a 
 quiet way, as if it were no very wonderful deed for such 
 a young man as he to perform. "I have brought you 
 the Gorgon's head, snaky locks and all!" 
 
 "Indeed! Pray let me see it," quoth King Poly- 
 dectes. "It must be a very curious spectacle, if all 
 that travellers tell about it be true!" 
 
 "Your Majesty is in the right," replied Perseus. "It 
 is really an object that will be pretty certain to fix the 
 regards of all who look at it. And, if Your Majesty 
 think fit, I would suggest that a holiday be proclaimed, 
 and that all Your Majesty's subjects be summoned to
 
 138 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 behold this wonderful curiosity. Few of them, I imagine, 
 have seen a Gorgon's head before, and perhaps never 
 may again 1" 
 
 The king well knew that his subjects were an idle 
 set of reprobates, and very fond of sightseeing, as idle 
 persons usually are. So he took the young man's advice, 
 and sent out heralds and messengers, in all directions, 
 to blow the trumpet at the street corners, and in the 
 market places, and wherever two roads met, and summon 
 everybody to court. Thither, accordingly, came a 
 great multitude of good-for-nothing vagabonds, all of 
 whom, out of pure love of mischief, would have been 
 glad if Perseus had met with some ill-hap in his encounter 
 with the Gorgons. If there were any better people in 
 the island (as I really hope there may have been, although 
 the story tells nothing about any such), they stayed 
 quietly at home, minding their business, and taking care 
 of their little children. Most of the inhabitants, at all 
 events, ran as fast as they could to the palace, and 
 shoved, and pushed, and elbowed one another in 
 their eagerness to get near a balcony, on which Perseus 
 showed himself, holding the embroidered wallet in 
 his hand. 
 
 On a platform, within full view of the balcony, sat 
 the mighty King Polydectes, amid his evil counsellors, 
 and with his flattering courtiers in a semi-circle round 
 about him. Monarch, counsellors, courtiers, and sub- 
 jects, all gazed eagerly toward Perseus. 
 
 "Show us the head! Show us the head!" shouted the 
 people; and there was a fierceness in their cry as if they 
 would tear Perseus to pieces, unless he should satisfy 
 them with what he had to show. "Show us the head of 
 Medusa with the snaky locks!"
 
 The Gorgon's Head 139 
 
 A feeling of sorrow and pity came over the youthful 
 Perseus. 
 
 "O King Polydectes," cried he, "and ye many people, 
 I am very loath to show you the Gorgon's head!" 
 
 "Ah, the villain and coward!" yelled the people, more 
 fiercely than before. "He is making game of us! He 
 has no Gorgon's head! Show us the head if you have it, 
 or we will take your own head for a football!" 
 
 The evil counsellors whispered bad advice in the king's 
 ear; the courtiers murmured, with one consent, that 
 Perseus had shown disrespect to their royal lord and 
 master; and the great King Polydectes himself waved his 
 hand, and ordered him, with the stern, deep voice of 
 authority, on his peril, to produce the head. 
 
 "Show me the Gorgon's head, or I will cut off your 
 own!" 
 
 And Perseus sighed. 
 
 "This instant," repeated Polydectes, "or you die!" 
 
 "Behold it then!" cried Perseus, in a voice like the 
 blast of a trumpet. 
 
 And, suddenly holding up the head, not an eyelid had 
 time to wink before the wicked King Polydectes, his evil 
 counsellors, and all his fierce subjects were no longer 
 anything but the mere images of a monarch and his peo- 
 ple. They were all fixed, forever, in the look and attitude 
 of that moment! At the first glimpse of the terrible head 
 of Medusa, they whitened into marble! And Perseus 
 thrust the head back into his wallet, and went to tell his 
 dear mother that she need no longer be afraid of the 
 wicked King Polydectes.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE DRAGON'S TEETH 
 
 CADMUS, Phoenix, and Cilix, the three sons of King 
 Agenor, and their little sister Europa (who was a very 
 beautiful child) were at play together, near the seashore, 
 in their father's kingdom of Phoenicia. They had ram- 
 bled to some distance from the palace where their parents 
 dwelt, and were now in a verdant meadow, on one side of 
 which lay the sea, all sparkling and dimpling in the sun- 
 shine, and murmuring gently against the beach. The 
 three boys were very happy, gathering flowers, and twining 
 them into garlands, with which they adorned the little 
 Europa. Seated on the grass, the child was almost hid- 
 den under an abundance of buds and blossoms, whence 
 her rosy face peeped merrily out, and, as Cadmus said, 
 was the prettiest of all the flowers. 
 
 Just then, there came a splendid butterfly, fluttering 
 along the meadow; and Cadmus, Phoenix, and Cilix set 
 off in pursuit of it, crying out that it was a flower with 
 wings. Europa, who was a little wearied with playing 
 all day long, did not chase the butterfly with her brothers, 
 but sat still where they had left her, and closed her eyes. 
 For a while, she listened to the pleasant murmur of the 
 sea, which was like a voice saying "Hush!" and bidding 
 her go to sleep. But the pretty child, if she slept at all. 
 could not have slept more than a moment, when she 
 heard something trample on the grass, not far from her, 
 
 140
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 141 
 
 and peeping out from the heap of flowers, beheld a snow- 
 white bull. 
 
 And whence could this bull have come? Europa and 
 her brothers had been a long time playing in the meadow, 
 and had seen no cattle, nor other living thing, either there 
 or on the nighbouring hills. 
 
 "Brother Cadmus!" cried Europa, starting up out of 
 the midst of the roses and lilies. "Phcenix! Cilix! Where 
 are you all? Help I Help! Come and drive away this 
 bull!" 
 
 But her brothers were too far off to hear; especially as 
 the fright took away Europa's voice, and hindered her 
 from calling very loudly. So there she stood, with her 
 pretty mouth wide open, as pale as the white lilies that 
 were twisted among the other flowers in her garlands. 
 
 Nevertheless, it was the suddenness with which she 
 had perceived the bull, rather than anything frightful in 
 his appearance, that caused Europa so much alarm. On 
 looking at him more attentively, she began to see that he 
 was a beautiful animal, and even fancied a particularly 
 amiable expression in his face. As for his breath the 
 breath of cattle, you know, is always sweet it was as 
 fragrant as if he had been grazing on no other food than 
 rosebuds, or, at least, the most delicate of clover blossoms. 
 Never before did a bull have such bright and tender eyes, 
 and such smooth horns of ivory, as this one. And the bull 
 ran little races, and capered sportively around the child; 
 so that she quite forgot how big and strong he was, and, 
 from the gentleness and playfulness of his actions, soon 
 came to consider him as innocent a creature as a pet lamb. 
 
 Thus, frightened as she at first was, you might by and 
 by have seen Europa stroking the bull's forehead with 
 her small white hand, and taking the garlands off her own
 
 142 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 head to hang them on his neck and ivory horns. Then she 
 pulled up some blades of grass, and he ate them out of her 
 hand, not as if he were hungry, but because he wanted to 
 be friends with the child, and took pleasure in eating what 
 she had touched. Well, my stars! was there ever such a 
 gentle, sweet, pretty, and amiable creature as this bull, 
 and ever such a nice playmate for a little girl ? 
 
 When the animal saw (for the bull had so much intelli- 
 gence that it is really wonderful to think of), when he saw 
 that Europa was no longer afraid of him, he grew over- 
 joyed, and could hardly contain himself for delight. He 
 frisked about the meadow, now here, now there, making 
 sprightly leaps, with as little effort as a bird expends in 
 hopping from twig to twig. Indeed, his motion was as 
 light as if he were flying through the air, and his hoofs 
 seemed hardly to leave their print in the grassy soil over 
 which he trod. With his spotless hue, he resembled a 
 snowdrift, wafted along by the wind. Once he galloped 
 so far away that Europa feared lest she might never see 
 him again; so, setting up her childish voice, she called 
 him back. 
 
 "Come back, pretty creature!" she cried. "Here is a 
 nice clover blossom." 
 
 And then it was delightful to witness the gratitude of 
 this amiable bull, and how he was so full of joy and thank- 
 fulness that he capered higher than ever. He came run- 
 ning, and bowed his head before Europa, as if he knew 
 her to be a king's daughter, or else recognised the impor- 
 tant truth that a little girl is everybody's queen. And 
 not only did the bull bend his neck, he absolutely knelt 
 down at her feet, and made such intelligent nods, and 
 other inviting gestures, that Europa understood what he 
 meant just as well as if he had put it in so many words.
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 143 
 
 "Come, dear child," was what he wanted to say, "let 
 me give you a ride on my back." 
 
 At the first thought of such a thing, Europa drew back. 
 But then she considered in her wise little head that there 
 could be no possible harm in taking just one gallop on 
 the back of this docile and friendly animal, who would 
 certainly set her down the very instant she desired it. 
 And how it would surprise her brothers to see her riding 
 across the green meadow! And what merry times they 
 might have, either taking turns for a gallop, or clambering 
 on the gentle creature, all four children together, and 
 careering round the field with shouts of laughter that 
 would be heard as far off as King Agenor's palace 1 
 
 "I think I will do it," said the child to herself. 
 
 And, indeed, why not ? She cast a glance around, and 
 caught a glimpse of Cadmus, Phoenix, and Cilix, who 
 were still in pursuit of the butterfly, almost at the other 
 end of the meadow. It would be the quickest way of 
 rejoining them, to get upon the white bull's back. She 
 came a step nearer to him, therefore; and sociable 
 creature that he was he showed so much joy at this mark 
 of her confidence, that the child could not find it in her 
 heart to hesitate any longer. Making one bound (for 
 this little princess was as active as a squirrel), there sat 
 Europa on the beautiful bull, holding an ivory horn in 
 each hand, lest she should fall off. 
 
 "Softly, pretty bull, softly!" she said, rather frightened 
 at what she had done. "Do not gallop too fast." 
 
 Having got the child on his back, the animal gave a 
 leap into the air, and came down so like a feather that 
 Europa did not know when his hoofs touched the ground. 
 He then began a race to that part of the flowery plain 
 where her three brothers were, and where they had just
 
 144 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 caught their splendid butterfly. Europa screamed wifti 
 delight; and Phoenix, Cilix, and Cadmus stood gaping 
 at the spectacle of their sister mounted on a white bull, 
 not knowing whether to be frightened or to wish the same 
 good luck for themselves. The gentle and innocent 
 creature (for who could possibly doubt that he was so?) 
 pranced round among the children as sportively as a 
 kitten. Europa all the while looked down upon her 
 brothers, nodding and laughing, but yet with a sort of 
 stateliness in her rosy little face. As the bull wheeled 
 about to take another gallop across the meadow, the 
 child waved her hand, and said, "Good-by," playfully 
 pretending that she was now bound on a distant journey, 
 and might not see her brothers again for nobody could 
 tell how long. 
 
 "Good-by," shouted Cadmus, Phoenix, and Cilix, all 
 in one breath. 
 
 But, together with her enjoyment of the sport, there 
 was still a little remnant of fear in the child's heart; so 
 that her last look at the three boys was a troubled one, 
 and made them feel as if their dear sister were really leav- 
 ing them forever. And what do you think the snowy bull 
 did next ? Why, he set off, as swift as the wind, straight 
 down to the seashore, scampered across the sand, took 
 an airy leap, and plunged right in among the foaming 
 billows. The white spray rose in a shower over him and 
 little Europa, and fell spattering down upon the water. 
 
 Then what a scream of terror did the poor child send 
 forth! The three brothers screamed manfully, likewise, 
 and ran to the shore as fast as their legs would carry 
 them, with Cadmus at their head. But it was too late. 
 When they reached the margin of the sand, the treacher- 
 ous animal was already far away in the wide blue sea*
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 145 
 
 with only his snowy head and tail emerging, and poor 
 little Europa between them, stretching out one hand 
 toward her dear brothers, while she grasped the bull's 
 ivory horn with the other. And there stood Cadmus, 
 Phoenix, and Cilix, gazing at this sad spectacle, through 
 their tears, until they could no longer distinguish the 
 bull's snowy head from the white-capped billows that 
 seemed to boil up out of the sea's depths around him. 
 Nothing more was ever seen of the white bull nothing 
 more of the beautiful child. 
 
 This was a mournful story, as you may well think, for 
 the three boys to carry home to their parents. King 
 Agenor, their father, was the ruler of the whole country; 
 but he loved his little daughter Europa better than his 
 kingdom, or than all his other children, or than anything 
 else in the world. Therefore, when Cadmus and his two 
 brothers came crying home, and told him how that a 
 white bull had carried off their sister, and swam with her 
 over the sea, the king was quite beside himself with grief 
 and rage. Although it was now twilight, and fast growing 
 dark, he bade them set out instantly in search of her. 
 
 "Never shall you see my face again," he cried, "unless 
 you bring me back my little Europa, to gladden me with 
 her smiles and her pretty ways. Begone, and enter my 
 presence no more, till you come leading her by the hand." 
 
 As King Agenor said this, his eyes flashed fire (for he 
 was a very passionate king), and he looked so terribly 
 angry that the poor boys did not even venture to ask foi 
 their suppers, but slunk away out of the palace, and only 
 paused on the steps a moment to consult whither they 
 should go first. While they were standing there, all in 
 dismay, their mother, Queen Telephassa (who happened 
 not to be by when they told the story to the king), came
 
 146 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 hurrying after them, and said that she, too, would go in 
 quest of her daughter. 
 
 "Oh no, mother!" cried the boys. "The night is 
 dark, and there is no knowing what troubles and perils 
 we may meet with." 
 
 "Alas! my dear children," answered poor Queen 
 Telephassa, weeping bitterly, "that is only another reason 
 why I should go with you. If I should lose you, too, as 
 well as my little Europa, what would become of me?" 
 
 "And let me go likewise!" said their playfellow Thasus,, 
 who came running to join them. 
 
 Thasus was the son of a seafaring person in the neigh- 
 bourhood; he had been brought up with the young prin- 
 cess, and was their intimate friend, and loved Europa 
 very much; so they consented that he should accompany 
 them. The whole party, therefore, set forth together; 
 Cadmus, Phoenix, Cilix and Thasus clustered round 
 Queen Telephassa, grasping her skirts, and begging her 
 to lean upon their shoulders whenever she felt weary. In 
 this manner they went down the palace steps, and began 
 a journey which turned out to be a great deal longer than 
 they dreamed of. The last that they saw of King Agenor, 
 he came to the door, with a servant holding a torch beside 
 him, and called after them into the gathering darkness: 
 
 "Remember! Never ascend these steps again without 
 the child!" 
 
 "Never!" sobbed Queen Telephassa; and the three 
 brothers and Thasus answered, "Never! Never! Never! 
 Never!" 
 
 And they kept their word. Year after year King 
 Agenor sat in the solitude of his beautiful palace, listening 
 in vain for their returning footsteps, hoping to hear the 
 familiar voice of the queen, and the cheerful talk of his
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 147 
 
 sons and their playfellow Thasus, entering the door 
 together, and the sweet, childish accents of little Europa 
 in the midst of them. But so long a time went by, that, 
 at last, if they had really come, the king would not have 
 known that this was the voice of Telephassa, and these 
 the younger voices that used to make such joyful echoes 
 when the children were playing about the palace. We 
 must now leave King Agenor to sit on his throne, and 
 must go along with Queen' Telephassa and her four youth- 
 ful companions. 
 
 They went on and on, and travelled a long way, and 
 passed over mountains and rivers, and sailed over seas. 
 Here, and there, and everywhere, they made continual 
 inquiry if any person could tell them what had become of 
 Europa. The rustic people, of whom they asked this 
 question, paused a little while from their labours in the 
 field, and looked very much surprised. They thought it 
 strange to behold a woman in the garb of a queen (for 
 Telephassa, in her haste, had forgotten to take off her 
 crown and her royal robes), roaming about the country, 
 with four lads around her, on such an errand as this 
 seemed to be. But nobody could give them any tidings 
 of Europa; nobody had seen a little girl dressed like a 
 princess, and mounted on a snow-white bull, which 
 galloped as swiftly as the wind. 
 
 I cannot tell .you how long Queen Telephassa, and 
 Cadmus, Phoenix, and Cilix, her three sons, and Thasus, 
 their playfellow, went wandering along the highways and 
 bypaths, or through the pathless wildernesses of the 
 earth, in this manner. But certain it is, that, before they 
 reached any place of rest, their splendid garments were 
 quite worn out. They all looked very much travel 
 stained, and would have had the dust of many countries
 
 148 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 on their shoes, if the streams, through which they waded, 
 had not washed it all away. When they had been gone 
 a year, Telephassa threw away her crown, because it 
 chafed her forehead. 
 
 "It has given me many a headache," said the poor 
 queen, "and it cannot cure my heartache." 
 
 As fast as then* princely robes got torn and tattered, 
 they exchanged them for such mean attire as ordinary 
 people wore. By and by they came to have a wild and 
 homeless aspect; so that you would much sooner have 
 taken them for a gypsy family than a queen and three 
 princes, and a young nobleman, who had once a palace 
 for their home, and a train of servants to do their bidding. 
 The four boys grew up to be tall young men, with sun- 
 burnt faces. Each of them girded on a sword, to defend 
 themselves against the perils of the way. When the hus- 
 bandmen, at whose farmhouses they sought hospitality, 
 needed their assistance in the harvest field, they gave it 
 willingly; and Queen Telephassa (who had done no work 
 in her palace, save to braid silk threads with golden ones) 
 came behind them to bind the sheaves. If payment was 
 offered, they shook their heads, and only asked for tidings 
 of Europa. 
 
 "There are bulls enough in my pasture," the old 
 farmers would reply; "but I never heard of one like this 
 you tell me of. A snow-white bull with a little princess 
 on his back! Ho! ho! I ask your pardon, good folks: 
 but there never was such a sight seen hereabouts." 
 
 At last, when his upper lip began to have the down on 
 it. Phoenix grew weary of rambling hither and thither to 
 no purpose. So, one day, when they happened to be 
 passing through a pleasant and solitary tract of country, 
 he sat himself down on a heap of moss.
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 149 
 
 "I can go no farther," said Phoenix. ""It is a mere 
 foolish waste of life, to spend it, as we do, in always wan- 
 dering up and down, and never coming to any home at 
 nightfall. Our sister is lost, and never will be found. 
 She probably perished in the sea; or, to whatever shore 
 the white bull may have carried her, it is now so many 
 years ago, that there would be neither love nor acquaint- 
 ance between us should we meet again. My father has 
 forbidden us to return to his palace; so I shall build me a 
 hut of branches, and dwell here." 
 
 "Well, son Phcenix," said Telephassa, sorrowfully, 
 "you have grown to be a man, and must do as you judge 
 best. But, for my part, I will still go in quest of my poor 
 child." 
 
 "And we three will go along with you!" cried Cadmus 
 and Cilix, and their faithful friend Thasus. 
 
 But, before setting out, they all helped Phcenix to build 
 a habitation. When completed, it was a sweet rural 
 bower, roofed overhead with an arch of living boughs. 
 Inside there were two pleasant rooms, one of which had a 
 soft heap of moss for a bed, while the other was furnished 
 with a rustic seat or two, curiously fashioned out of the 
 crooked roots of trees. So comfortable and homelike 
 did it seem, that Telephassa and her three companions 
 could not help sighing, to think that they must still roam 
 about the world, instead of spending the remainder of 
 their lives in some such cheerful abode as they had here 
 built for Phcenix. But, when they bade him farewell, 
 Phcenix shed tears, and probably regretted that he was 
 no longer to keep them company. 
 
 However, he had fixed upon an admirable place to 
 dwell in. And by and by there came other people, who 
 chanced to have no homes; and, seeing how pleasant a
 
 150 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 spot it was, they built themselves huts in the neighbour- 
 hood of Phoenix's habitation. Thus, before many years 
 went by, a city had grown up there, in the centre of which 
 was seen a stately palace of marble, wherein dwelt Phcenix, 
 clothed in a purple robe, and wearing a golden crown 
 upon his head. For the inhabitants of the new city, 
 finding that he had royal blood in his veins, had chosen 
 him to be their king. The very first decree of state which 
 King Phoenix issued was, that if a maiden happened to 
 arrive in the kingdom, mounted on a snow-white bull, 
 and calling herself Europa, his subjects should treat her 
 with the greatest kindness and respect, and immediately 
 bring her to the palace. You may see, by this, that 
 Phoenix's conscience never quite ceased to trouble him, 
 for giving up the quest of his dear sister, and sitting him- 
 self down to be comfortable, while his mother and her 
 companions went onward. 
 
 But often and often, at the close of a weary day's jour- 
 ney, did Telephassa and Cadmus, Cilix and Thasus, 
 remember the pleasant spot in which they had left 
 Phcenix. It was a sorrowful prospect for these wan- 
 derers, that on the morrow they must again set forth, and 
 that, after many nightfalls, they would perhaps be no 
 nearer the close of their toilsome pilgrimage than now. 
 These thoughts made them all melancholy at times, but 
 appeared to torment Cilix more than the rest of the party. 
 At length, one morning, when they were taking their 
 staffs in hand to set out, he thus addressed them: 
 
 "My dear mother, and you good brother Cadmus, and 
 my friend Thasus, me thinks we are like people in a dream. 
 There is no substance in the life which we are leading. 
 It is such a dreary length of time since the white bull car- 
 ried off my sister Europa, that I have quite forgotten how
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 151 
 
 she looked, and the tones of her voice, and, indeed, almost 
 doubt whether such a little girl ever lived in the world. 
 And whether she once lived or no, I am convinced that 
 she no longer survives, and that therefore it is the merest 
 folly to waste our own lives and happiness in seeking her. 
 Were we to find her, she would now be a woman grown, 
 and would look upon us all as strangers. So, to tell you 
 the truth, I have resolved to take up my abode here; and 
 I entreat you, mother, brother, and friend, to follow my 
 example." 
 
 "Not I, for one," said Telephassa; although the poor 
 queen, firmly as she spoke, was so travel worn that she 
 could hardly put her foot to the ground "not I, for one! 
 In the depths of my heart, little Europa is still the rosy 
 child who ran to gather flowers so many years ago. She 
 has not grown to womanhood, nor forgotten me. At 
 noon, at night, journeying onward, sitting down to rest, 
 her childish voice is always in my ears, calling, 'Mother! 
 mother!' Stop here who may, there is no repose for me." 
 
 "Nor for me," said Cadmus, "while my dear mother 
 pleases to go onward." 
 
 And the faithful Thasus, too, was resolved to bear them 
 company. They remained with Cilix a few days, how- 
 ever, and helped him to build a rustic bower, resembling 
 the one which they had formerly built for Phcenix. 
 
 When they were bidding him farewell, Cilix burst into 
 tears, and told his mother that it seemed just as melan- 
 choly a dream to stay there, in solitude, as to go onward. 
 If she really believed that they would ever find Europa, 
 he was willing to continue the search with them, even 
 now. But Telephassa bade him remain there, and be 
 happy, if his own heart would let him. So the pilgrims 
 took their leave of him, and departed, and were hardly
 
 152 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 out of sight before some other wandering people came 
 along that way, and saw Cilix's habitation, and were 
 greatly delighted with the appearance of the place. There 
 being abundance of unoccupied ground in the neighbour- 
 hood, these strangers built huts for themselves, and were 
 soon joined by a multitude of new settlers, who quickly 
 formed a city. In the middle of it was seen a magnificent 
 palace of coloured marble, on the balcony of which, every 
 noontide, appeared Cilix, in a long purple robe, and with 
 a jewelled crown upon his head; for the inhabitants, when 
 they found out that he was a king's son, had considered 
 him the fittest of all men to be a king himself. 
 
 One of the first acts of King Cilix's government was to 
 send out an expedition, consisting of a grave ambassador 
 and an escort of bold and hardy young men, with orders 
 to visit the principal kingdoms of the earth, and inquire 
 whether a young maiden had passed through those 
 regions, galloping swiftly on a white bull. It is, therefore, 
 plain to my mind, that Cilix secretly blamed himself for 
 giving up the search for Europa, as long as he was able to 
 put one foot before the other. 
 
 As for Telephassa, and Cadmus, and the good Thasus, 
 it grieves me to think of them, still keeping up that weary 
 pilgrimage. The two young men did their best for the 
 poor queen, helping her over the rough places, often car- 
 rying her across rivulets in their faithful arms, and seeking 
 to shelter her at nightfall, even when they themselves lay 
 on the ground. Sad, sad it was to hear them asking of 
 every passerby if he had seen Europa, so long after the 
 white bull had carried her away. But, though the gray 
 years thrust themselves between, and made the child's 
 figure dim in their remembrance, neither of these true- 
 hearted three ever dreamed of giving up the search,
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 153 
 
 One morning, however, poor Thasus found that he 
 had sprained his ankle, and could not possibly go a step 
 farther. 
 
 "After a few days, to be sure," said he, mournfully, "I 
 might make shift to hobble along with a stick. But that 
 would only delay you, and perhaps hinder you from 
 finding dear little Europa, after all your pains and trouble. 
 Do you go forward, therefore, my beloved companions, 
 and leave me to follow as I may." 
 
 "Thou hast been a true friend, dear Thasus," said 
 Queen Telephassa, kissing his forehead. " Being neither 
 my son, nor the brother of our lost Europa, thou hast 
 shown thyself truer to me and her than Phcenix and Cilix 
 did, whom we have left behind us. Without thy loving 
 help, and that of my son Cadmus, my limbs could not 
 have borne me half so far as this. Now, take thy rest, 
 and be at peace. For and it is the first time I have 
 owned it to myself I begin to question whether we shall 
 ever find my beloved daughter in this world." 
 
 Saying this, the poor queen shed tears, because it was 
 a grievous trial to the mother's heart to confess that her 
 hopes were growing faint. From that day forward, Cad- 
 mus noticed that she never travelled with the same 
 alacrity of spirit that had heretofore supported her. Her 
 weight was heavier upon his arm. 
 
 Before setting out, Cadmus helped Thasus build a 
 bower; while Telephassa, being too infirm to give any 
 great assistance, advised them how to fit it up and furnish 
 it, so that it might be as comfortable as a hut of branches 
 could. Thasus, however, did not spend all his days in 
 this green bower. For it happened to him, as to Phoenix 
 and Cilix, that other homeless people visited the spot and 
 liked it, and built themselves habitations in the neighbour'
 
 154 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 hood. So here, in the course of a few years, was anothei 
 thriving city with a red freestone palace in the centre of 
 it, where Thasus set upon a throne, doing justice to the 
 people, with a purple robe over his shoulders, a sceptre 
 in his hand, and a crown upon his head. The inhabitants 
 had made him king, not for the sake of any royal blood 
 (for none was in his veins), but because Thasus was an 
 upright, true-hearted, and courageous man, and therefore 
 fit to rule. 
 
 But, when the affairs of his kingdom were all settled, 
 King Thasus laid aside his purple robe, and crown, and 
 sceptre, and bade his worthiest subject distribute justice 
 to the people in his stead. Then, grasping the pilgrim's 
 staff that had supported him so long, he set forth again, 
 hoping still to discover some hoof mark of the snow-white 
 bull, some trace of the vanished child. He returned, after 
 a lengthened absence, and sat down wearily upon his 
 throne. To his latest hour, nevertheless, King Thasus 
 showed his true-hearted remembrance of Europa, by 
 ordering that a fire should always be kept burning in his 
 palace, and a bath steaming hot, and food ready to be 
 served up, and a bed with snow-white sheets, in case the 
 maiden sluuld arrive, and require immediate refresh- 
 ment. And though Europa never came, the good Thasus 
 had the blessings of many a poor traveller, who profited 
 by the food and lodging which were meant for the little 
 playmate of the king's boyhood. 
 
 Telephassa and Cadmus were now pursuing their 
 weary way, with no companion but each other. The 
 queen leaned heavily upon her son's arm, and could walk 
 only a few miles a day. But for all her weakness and 
 weariness, she would not be persuaded to give up the 
 search. It was enough to bring tears into the eyes o/
 
 The Dragon's Teeth] 15$ 
 
 oearded men to hear the melancholy tone with which she 
 inquired of every stranger whether he could tell her any 
 news of the lost child. 
 
 "Have you seen a little girl no, no, I mean a young 
 maiden of full growth passing by this way, mounted on 
 a snow-white bull, which gallops as swiftly as the wind?" 
 
 "We have seen no such wondrous sight," the people 
 would reply; and very often, taking Cadmus aside, they 
 whispered to him, "Is this stately and sad-looking woman 
 your mother? Surely she is not in her right mind; and 
 you ought to take her home, and make her comfortable, 
 and do your best to get this dream out of her fancy." 
 
 "It is no dream," said Cadmus. "Everything else is 
 a dream, save that." 
 
 But, one day, Telephassa seemed feebler than usual, 
 and leaned almost her whole weight on the arm of Cad- 
 mus, and walked more slowly than ever before. At last 
 they reached a solitary spot, where she told her son that 
 she must needs lie down, and take a good, long rest. 
 
 "A good, long rest!" she repeated, looking Cadmus ten- 
 derly in the face "a good, long rest, thou dearest one!" 
 
 "As long as you please, dear mother," answered Cad- 
 mus. 
 
 Telephassa bade him sit down on the turf beside her, 
 and then she took his hand. 
 
 "My son," said she, fixing her dim eyes most lovingly 
 upon him, "this rest that I speak of will be very long 
 indeed! You must not wait till it is finished. Dear Cad- 
 mus, you do not comprehend me. You must make a 
 grave here, and lay your mother's weary frame into it. 
 My pilgrimage is over." 
 
 Cadmus burst into tears, and, for a long time, refused 
 to believe that his dear mother was now to be taken from
 
 156 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 him. But Telepnassa reasoned with him, and kissed 
 him, and at length made him discern that it was better for 
 her spirit to pass away out of the toil, the weariness, the 
 grief, and disappointment which had burdened her on 
 earth, ever since the child was lost. He therefore re- 
 pressed his sorrow, and listened to her last words. 
 
 "Dearest Cadmus," said she, "thou hast been the 
 truest son that ever mother had, and faithful to the very 
 last. Who else would have borne with my infirmities as 
 thou hast! It is owing to thy care, thou tenderest child, 
 that my grave was not dug long years ago, in some valley, 
 or on some hillside, that lies far, far behind us. It is 
 enough. Thou shalt wander no more on this hopeless 
 search. But when thou hast laid thy mother in the earth, 
 then go, my son, to Delphi, and inquire of the oracle what 
 thou shalt do next." 
 
 "O mother, mother," cried Cadmus, "couldst thou 
 but have seen my sister before this hour!" 
 
 "It matters little now," answered Telephassa, and 
 there was a smile upon her face. "I go now to the better 
 world, and, sooner or later, shall find my daughter there." 
 
 I will not sadden you, my little hearers, with telling 
 how Telephassa died and was buried, but will only say, 
 that her dying smile grew brighter, instead of vanishing 
 from her dead face; so that Cadmus felt convinced that, 
 at her very first step into the better world, she had caught 
 Europa in her arms. He planted some flowers on his 
 mother's grave, and left them to grow there, and make 
 the place beautiful, when he should be far away. 
 
 After performing this last sorrowful duty, he set forth 
 alone, and took the road toward the famous oracle of 
 Delphi, as Telephassa had advised him. On his way 
 thither, he still inquired of most people whom he met
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 157 
 
 whether they had seen Europa; for, to say the truth, 
 Cadmus had grown so accustomed to ask the question, 
 that it came to his lips as readily as a remark about the 
 weather. He received various answers. Some told him 
 one thing, and some another. Among the rest, a mariner 
 affirmed, that, many years before, in a distant country, 
 he had heard a rumour about a white bull, which came 
 swimming across the sea with a child on his back, dressed 
 up in flowers that were blighted by the sea water. He 
 did not know what had become of the child or the bull; 
 and Cadmus suspected, indeed, by a queer twinkle in the 
 mariner's eyes, that he was putting a joke upon him, and 
 had never really heard anything about the matter. 
 
 Poor Cadmus found it more wearisome to travel alone 
 than to bear all his dear mother's weight while she had 
 kept him company. His heart, you will understand, was 
 now so heavy that it seemed impossible, sometimes, to 
 carry it any farther. But his limbs were strong and active 
 and well accustomed to exercise. He walked swiftly 
 along, thinking of King Agenor and Queen Telephassa, 
 and his brothers, and the friendly Thasus, all of whom he 
 had left behind him, at one point of his pilgrimage or 
 another, and never expected to see them any more. Full 
 of these remembrances, he came within sight of a lofty 
 mountain, which the people thereabouts told him was 
 called Parnassus. On the slope of Mount Parnassus was 
 the famous Delphi, whither Cadmus was going. 
 
 This Delphi was supposed to be the very midmost spot 
 of the whole world. The place of the oracle was a certain 
 cavity in the mountain side, over which, when Cadmus 
 came thither, he found a rude bower of branches. It 
 reminded him of those which he had helped to build for 
 Phoenix and Cilix, and afterward for Thasus. In later
 
 158 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 times, when multitudes of people came from great dis- 
 tances to put questions to the oracle, a spacious temple of 
 marble was erected over the spot. But in the days of 
 Cadmus, as I have told you, there was only this rustic 
 bower, with its abundance of green foliage, and a tuft of 
 shrubbery, that ran wild over the mysterious hole in the 
 hillside. 
 
 When Cadmus had thrust a passage through the 
 tangled boughs, and made his way into the bower, he 
 did not at first discern the half-hidden cavity. But soon 
 he felt a cold stream of air rushing out of it, with so much 
 force that it shook the ringlets on his cheek. Pulling 
 away the shrubbery which clustered over the hole, he bent 
 forward, and spoke in a distinct but reverential tone, as if 
 addressing some unseen personage inside of the mountain. 
 
 "Sacred oracle of Delphi," said he, "whither shall I go 
 next in quest of my dear sister Europa?" 
 
 There was at first a deep silence, and then a rushing 
 sound, or a noise like a long sigh, proceeding out of the 
 interior of the earth. This cavity, you must know, was 
 looked upon as a sort of fountain of truth, which some- 
 times gushed out in audible words; although, for the 
 most part, these words were such a riddle that they might 
 just as well have stayed at the bottom of the hole. But 
 Cadmus was more fortunate than many others who went 
 to Delphi in search of truth. By and by, the rushing 
 noise began to sound like articulate language. It re- 
 peated, over and over again, the following sentence, which, 
 after all, was so like the vague whistle of a blast of air, 
 that Cadmus really did not quite know whether it meant 
 anything or not: 
 
 "Seek her no more! Seek her no morel Seek her no 
 more!"
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 159 
 
 "What, then, shall I do?" asked Cadmus. 
 
 For, ever since he was a child, you know, it had been 
 the great object of his life to find his sister. From the very 
 hour that he left following the butterfly in the meadow, near 
 his father's palace, he had done his best to follow Europa, 
 over land and sea. And now, if he must give up the 
 search, he seemed to have no more business in the world. 
 
 But again the sighing gust of air grew into something 
 like a hoarse voice. 
 
 "Follow the cow!" it said. "Follow the cow! Follow 
 the cow!" 
 
 And when these words had been repeated until Cadmus 
 was tired of hearing them (especially as he could not 
 imagine what cow it was, or why he was to follow her), 
 the gusty hole gave vent to another sentence. 
 
 "Where the stray cow lies down, there is your home." 
 
 These words were pronounced but a single time, and 
 died away into a whisper before Cadmus was fully satis- 
 fied that he had caught the meaning. He put other ques- 
 tions, but received no answer; only the gust of wind sighed 
 continually out of the cavity, and blew the withered leaves 
 rustling along the ground before it. 
 
 "Did there really come any words out of the hole?" 
 thought Cadmus; "or have I been dreaming all this 
 while?" 
 
 He turned away from the oracle, and thought himself 
 no wiser than when he came thither. Caring little what 
 might happen to him, he took the first path that offered 
 itself, and went along at a sluggish pace; for, having no 
 object in view, nor any reason to go one way more than 
 another, it would certainly have been foolish to make 
 haste. Whenever he met anybody, the old question was 
 at his tongue's end:
 
 160 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "Have you seen a beautiful maiden, dressed like a 
 king's daughter, and mounted on a snow-white bull, that 
 gallops as swiftly as the wind ? " 
 
 But, remembering what the oracle had said, he only 
 half uttered the words, and then mumbled the rest indis- 
 tinctly; and from his confusion, people must have im- 
 agined that this handsome young man had lost his wits. 
 
 I know not how far Cadmus had gone, nor could he 
 himself have told you, when, at no great distance before 
 him, he beheld a brindled cow. She was lying down by 
 the wayside, and quietly chewing her cud; nor did she 
 take any notice of the young man until he had approached 
 pretty nigh. Then, getting leisurely upon her feet, and 
 giving her head a gentle toss, she began to move along at 
 a moderate pace, often pausing just long enough to crop 
 a mouthful of grass. Cadmus loitered behind, whistling 
 idly to himself, and scarcely noticing the cow; until the 
 thought occurred to him, whether this could possibly be 
 the animal which, according to the oracle's response, was 
 to serve him for a guide. But he smiled at himself for 
 fancying such a thing. He could not seriously think that 
 this was the cow, because she went along so quietly, 
 behaving just like any other cow. Evidently she neither 
 knew nor cared so much as a wisp of hay about Cadmus, 
 and was only thinking how to get her living along the 
 wayside, where the herbage was green and fresh. Per- 
 haps she was going home to be milked. 
 
 "Cow, cow, cow!" cried Cadmus. "Hey, Brindle, 
 hey! Stop, my good cow." 
 
 He wanted to come up with the cow, so as to examine 
 her, and see if she would appear to know him, or whether 
 there were any peculiarities to distinguish her from a 
 thousand other cows, whose only business is to fill the
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 161 
 
 milk pail, and sometimes kick it over. But still the 
 brindled cow trudged on, whisking her tail to keep the 
 flies away, and taking as little notice of Cadmus as she 
 well could. If he walked slowly, so did the cow, and seized 
 the opportunity to graze. If he quickened his pace, the 
 cow went just so much the faster; and once, when Cadmus 
 tried to catch her by running, she threw out her heels, 
 stuck her tail straight on end, and set off at a gallop, look- 
 ing as queerly as cows generally do, while putting them- 
 selves to their speed. 
 
 When Cadmus saw that it was impossible to come up 
 with her, he walked on moderately, as before. The cow, 
 too, went leisurely on, without looking behind. Wherever 
 the grass was greenest, there she nibbled a mouthful or 
 two. Where a brook glistened brightly across the path, 
 there the cow drank, and breathed a comfortable sigh, and 
 drank again, and trudged onward at the pace that best 
 suited herself and Cadmus. 
 
 "I do believe," thought Cadmus, "that this may be the 
 cow that was foretold me. If it be the one, I suppose she 
 will lie down somewhere hereabouts." 
 
 Whether it were the oracular cow or some other one, it 
 did not seem reasonable that she should travel a great way 
 farther. So, whenever they reached a particularly pleas- 
 ant spot on a breezy hillside, or in a sheltered vale, or 
 flowery meadow, on the shore of a calm lake, or along the 
 bank of a clear stream, Cadmus looked eagerly around to 
 see if the situation would suit him for a home. But still, 
 whether he liked the place or no, the brindled cow never 
 offered to lie down. On she went at the quiet pace of a 
 cow going homeward to the barnyard; and, every moment 
 Cadmus expected to see a milkmaid approaching with a 
 pail, or a herdsman running to head the stray animal, and
 
 1 6a Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 turn her back toward the pasture. But no milkmaid 
 came; no herdsman drove her back; and Cadmus fol- 
 lowed the stray brindle till he was almost ready to drop 
 down with fatigue. 
 
 "O brindled cow," cried he, in a tone of despair, "do 
 you never mean to stop?" 
 
 He had now grown too intent on following her to think 
 of lagging behind, however long the way, and whatever 
 might be his fatigue. Indeed, it seemed as if there were 
 something about the animal that bewitched people. 
 Several persons who happened to see the brindled cow, 
 and Cadmus following behind, began to trudge after her, 
 precisely as he did. Cadmus was glad of somebody to 
 converse with, and therefore talked very freely to these 
 good people. He told them all his adventures, and how 
 he had left King Agenor in his palace, and Phoenix at one 
 place, and Cilix at another, and Thasus at a third, and his 
 dear mother, Queen Telephassa, under a flowery sod; so 
 that now he was quite alone, both friendless and home- 
 less. He mentioned, likewise, that the oracle had bidden 
 him be guided by a cow, and inquired of the strangers 
 whether they supposed that this brindled animal could 
 be the one. 
 
 "Why, 'tis a very wonderful affair," answered one of 
 his new companions. "I am pretty well acquainted with 
 the ways of cattle, and I never knew a cow, of her own 
 accord, to go so far without stopping. If my legs will let 
 me, I'll never leave following the beast till she lies down." 
 
 "Nor I!" said a second. 
 
 "Nor I!" cried a third. "If she goes a hundred miles 
 farther, I'm determined to see the end of it." 
 
 The secret of it was, you must know, that the cow was 
 an enchanted cow, and that, without their being conscious
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 163 
 
 of it, she threw some of her enchantment over everybody 
 that took so much as half a dozen steps behind her. They 
 could not possibly help following her, though, all the 
 time, they fancied themselves doing it of their own accord. 
 The cow was by no means very nice in choosing her path; 
 so that sometimes they had to scramble over rocks, or 
 wade through mud and mire, and were all in a terribly 
 bedraggled condition, and tired to death, and very hun- 
 gry, into the bargain. What a weary business it was! 
 
 But still they kept trudging stoutly forward, and talking 
 as they went. The strangers grew very fond of Cadmus, 
 and resolved never to leave him, but to help him build a 
 city wherever the cow might lie down. In the centre of 
 it there should be a noble palace, in which Cadmus might 
 dwell, and be their king, with a throne, a crown and scep- 
 tre, a purple robe, and everything else that a king ought 
 to have; for in him there was the royal blood, and the 
 royal heart, and the head that knew how to rule. 
 
 While they were talking of these schemes, and beguiling 
 the tediousness of the way with laying out the plan of the 
 new city, one of the company happened to look at the cow. 
 
 "Joy! joy!" cried he, clapping his hands. "Brindle 
 is going to lie down." 
 
 They all looked; and, sure enough, the cow had stopped 
 and was staring leisurely about her, as other cows do 
 when on the point ot lying down. And slowly, slowly 
 did she recline herself on the soft grass, first bending her 
 fore legs, and then crouching her hind ones. When Cad- 
 mus and his companions came up with her, there was the 
 brindled cow taking her ease, chewing her cud, and look- 
 ing them quietly in the face; as if this was just the spot 
 she had been seeking for, and as if it were all a matter of 
 course.
 
 164 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "This, then," said Cadmus, gazing around him, "this 
 is to be my home." 
 
 It was a fertile and lovely plain, with great trees flinging 
 their sun-speckled shadows over it, and hills fencing it in 
 from the rough weather. At no great distance, they 
 beheld a river gleaming in the sunshine. A home feeling 
 stole into the heart of poor Cadmus. Ke was very glad 
 to know that here he might awake in the morning, without 
 the necessity of putting on his dusty sandals to travel 
 farther and farther. The days and the years would pass 
 over him, and find him still in this pleasant spot. If he 
 could have had his brothers with him, and his friend 
 Thasus, and could have seen his dear mother under a 
 roof of his own, he might here have been happy, after 
 all their disappointments. Some day or other, too, his 
 sister Europa might have come quietly to the door of his 
 home, and smiled round upon the familiar faces. But, 
 indeed, since there was no hope of regaining the friends 
 of his boyhood, or ever seeing his dear sister again, Cad- 
 mus resolved to make himself happy with these new com- 
 panions who had grown so fond of him while following 
 the cow. 
 
 "Yes, my friends," said he to them, "this is to be our 
 home. Here we will build our habitations. The brin- 
 dled cow, which has led us hither, will supply us with 
 milk. We will cultivate the neighbouring soil, and lead 
 an innocent and happy life." 
 
 His companions joyfully assented to this plan; and, in 
 the first place, being very hungry and thirsty, they looked 
 about them for the means of providing a comfortable 
 meal. Not far off, they saw a tuft of trees, which ap- 
 peared as if there might be a spring of water beneath 
 them. They went thither to fetch some, leaving Cadmus
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 165 
 
 stretched on the ground along with the brindled cow; for, 
 now that he had found a place of rest, it seemed as if all 
 the weariness of his pilgrimage, ever since he left King 
 Agenor's palace, had fallen upon him at once. But his 
 new friends had not long been gone, when he was sud- 
 denly startled by cries, shouts, and screams, and the noise 
 of a terrible struggle, and in the midst of it all, a most 
 awful hissing, which went right through his ears like a 
 rough saw. 
 
 Running toward the tuft of trees, he beheld the head 
 and fiery eyes of an immense serpent or dragon, with the 
 widest jaws that ever a dragon had, and a vast many rows 
 of horribly sharp teeth. Before Cadmus could reach the 
 spot, this pitiless reptile had killed his poor companions, 
 and was busily devouring them, making but a mouthful 
 of each man. 
 
 It appears that the fountain of water was enchanted, 
 and that the dragon had been set to guard it, so that no 
 mortal might ever quench his thirst there. As the neigh- 
 bouring inhabitants carefully avoided the spot, it was now 
 a long time (not less than a hundred years, or there- 
 abouts) since the monster had broken his fast; and, as 
 was natural enough, his appetite had grown to be enor- 
 mous, and was not half satisfied by the poor people whom 
 he had just eaten up. When he caught sight of Cadmus, 
 therefore, he set up another abominable hiss, and flung 
 back his immense jaws, until his mouth looked like a 
 great red cavern, at the farther end of which were seen 
 the legs of his last victim, whom he had hardly had time 
 to swallow. 
 
 But Cadmus was so enraged at the destruction of his 
 friends, that he cared neither for the size of the dragon's 
 jaws nor for his hundreds of sharp teeth. Drawing his
 
 166 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 sword, he rushed at the monster, and flung himself right 
 into his cavernous mouth. This bold method of attack- 
 ing him took the dragon by surprise; for, in fact, Cadmus 
 had leaped so far down into his throat, that the rows of 
 terrible teeth could not close upon him, nor do him the 
 least harm in the world. Thus, though the struggle was 
 a tremendous one, and though the dragon shattered the 
 tuft of trees into small splinters by the lashing of his tail, 
 yet, as Cadmus was all the while slashing and stabbing 
 at his very vitals, it was not long before the scaly wretch 
 bethought himself of slipping away. He had not gone 
 his length, however, when the brave Cadmus gave him a 
 sword thrust that finished the battle; and, creeping out 
 of the gateway of the creature's jaws, there he beheld him 
 still wriggling his vast bulk, although there was no longer 
 life enough in him to harm a little child. 
 
 But do not you suppose that it made Cadmus sorrow- 
 ful to think of the melancholy fate which had befallen 
 those poor, friendly people, who had followed the cow 
 along with him ? It seemed as if he were doomed to lose 
 everybody whom he loved, or to see them perish in one 
 way or another. And here he was, after all his toils and 
 troubles, in a solitary place, with not a single human 
 being to help him build a hut. 
 
 "What shall I do?" cried he aloud. "It were better 
 for me to have been devoured by the dragon, as my poor 
 companions were." 
 
 "Cadmus," said a voice but whether it came from 
 above or below him, or whether it spoke within his own 
 breast, the young man could not tell "Cadmus, pluck 
 out the dragon's teeth, and plant them in the earth." 
 
 This was a strange thing to do; nor was it very easy, 
 I should imagine, to dig out all those deep-rooted fangs
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 167 
 
 from the dead dragon's jaws. But Cadmus toiled and 
 tugged, and after pounding the monstrous head almost to 
 pieces with a great stone, he at last collected as many teeth 
 as might have filled a bushel or two. The next thing was 
 to plant them. This, likewise, was a tedious piece of 
 work, especially as Cadmus was already exhausted with 
 killing the dragon and knocking his head to pieces, and 
 had nothing to dig the earth with, that I know of, unless 
 it were his sword blade. Finally, however, a sufficiently 
 large tract of ground was turned up, and sown with this 
 new kind of seed; although half of the dragon's teeth 
 still remained to be planted some other day. 
 
 Cadmus, quite out of breath, stood leaning upon his 
 sword, and wondering what was to happen next. He had 
 waited but a few moments, when he began to see a sight, 
 which was as great a marvel as the most marvellous thing 
 I ever told you about. 
 
 The sun was shining slantwise over the field, and 
 showed all the moist, dark soil just like any other newly 
 planted piece of ground. All at once, Cadmus fancied 
 he saw something glisten very brightly, first at one spot, 
 then at another, and then at a hundred and a thousand 
 spots together. Soon he perceived them to be the steel 
 heads of spears, sprouting up everywhere like so many 
 stalks of grain, and continually growing taller and taller. 
 Next appeared a vast number of bright sword blades, 
 thrusting themselves up in the same way. A moment 
 afterward, the whole surface of the ground was broken 
 up by a multitude of polished brass helmets, coming up 
 like a crop of enormous beans. So rapidly did they grow, 
 that Cadmus now discerned the fierce countenance of 
 man beneath every one. In short, before he had time 
 to think what a wonderful affair it was, he beheld an
 
 i68 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 abundant harvest of what looked like human beings, 
 armed with helmets and breastplates, shields, swords and 
 spears; and before they were well out of the earth, they 
 brandished their weapons, and clashed them one against 
 another, seeming to think, little while as they had yet 
 lived, that they had wasted too much of life without a 
 battle. Every tooth of the dragon had produced one of 
 these sons of deadly mischief. 
 
 Up sprouted, also, a great many trumpeters; and with 
 the first breath that they drew, they put their brazen 
 trumpets to their lips, and sounded a tremendous and 
 ear-shattering blast; so that the whole space, just now so 
 quiet and solitary, reverberated with the clash and clang 
 of arms, the bray of warlike music, and the shouts of 
 angry men. So enraged did they all look, that Cadmus 
 fully expected them to put the whole world to the sword. 
 How fortunate would it be for a great conqueror, if he 
 could get a bushel of the dragon's teeth to sow! 
 
 "Cadmus," said the same voice which he had before 
 heard, "throw a stone into the midst of the armed men." 
 
 So Cadmus seized a large stone, and, flinging it into 
 the middle of the earth army, saw it strike the breast- 
 plate of a gigantic and fierce-looking warrior. Imme- 
 diately on feeling the blow, he seemed to take it for 
 granted that somebody had struck him; and, uplifting 
 his weapon, he smote his next neighbour a blow that cleft 
 his helmet asunder, and stretched him on the ground. 
 In an instant, those nearest the fallen warrior began to 
 strike at one another with their swords and stab with 
 their spears. The confusion spread wider and wider. 
 Each man smote down his brother, and was himself 
 smitten down before he had time to exult in his victory. 
 The trumpeters, all the while, blew their blasts shriller
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 169 
 
 and shriller; each soldier shouted a battle cry and often 
 fell with it on his lips. It was the strangest spectacle of 
 causeless wrath, and of mischief for no good end, that had 
 ever been witnessed; but, after all, it was neither more 
 foolish nor more wicked than a thousand battles that have 
 since been fought, in which men have slain their brothers 
 with just as little reason as these children of the dragon's 
 teeth. It ought to be considered, too, that the dragon 
 people were made for nothing else; whereas other mor- 
 tals were born to love and help one another. 
 
 Well, this memorable battle continued to rage until the 
 ground was strewn with helmeted heads that had been 
 cut off. Of all the thousands that began the fight, there 
 were only five left standing. These HOW rushed from 
 different parts of the field, and, meeting in the middle of 
 it, clashed their swords, and struck at each other's hearts 
 as fiercely as ever. 
 
 "Cadmus," said the voice again, "bid those five 
 warriors to sheathe their swords. They will help you to 
 build the city." 
 
 Without hesitating an instant, Cadmus stepped for- 
 ward, with the aspect of a king and a leader, and extend- 
 ing his drawn sword amongst them, spoke to the warriors 
 in a stern and commanding voice. 
 
 "Sheathe your weapons!" said he. 
 
 And forthwith, feeling themselves bound to obey him, 
 the five remaining sons of the dragon's teeth made him a 
 military salute with their swords, returned them to the 
 scabbards, and stood before Cadmus in a rank, eyeing 
 him as soldiers eye their captain, while awaiting the word 
 of command. 
 
 These five men had probably sprung from the biggest 
 of the dragon's teeth, and were the boldest and strongest
 
 170 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 of the whole army. They were almost giants, indeed, 
 and had good need to be so, else they never could have 
 lived through so terrible a fight. They still had a very 
 furious look, and, if Cadmus happened to glance aside, 
 would glare at one another, with fire flashing out of their 
 eyes. It was strange, too, to observe how the earth, out 
 of which they had so lately grown, was incrusted, here 
 and there, on their bright breastplates, and even begrimed 
 their faces, just as you may have seen it clinging to beets 
 and carrots when pulled out of their native soil. Cadmus 
 hardly knew whether to consider them as men, or some 
 odd kind of vegetable; although, on the whole, he con- 
 cluded that there was human nature in them, because 
 they were so fond of trumpets and weapons, and so ready 
 to shed blood. 
 
 They looked him earnestly in the face, waiting for his 
 next order, and evidently desiring no other employment 
 than to follow him from one battlefield to another, all 
 over the wide world. But Cadmus was wiser than these 
 earth-born creatures, with the dragon's fierceness in them, 
 and knew better how to use their strength and hardihood. 
 
 "Come!" said he. "You are sturdy fellows. Make 
 yourselves useful! Quarry some stones with those great 
 swords of yours, and help me to build a city." 
 
 The five soldiers grumbled a little, and muttered that 
 it was their business to overthrow cities, not to build them 
 up. But Cadmus looked at them with a stern eye, and 
 spoke to them in a tone of authority, so that they knew 
 him for their master, and never again thought of disobey- 
 ing his commands. They set to work in good earnest, and 
 toiled so diligently, that, in a very short time, a city began 
 to make its appearance. At first, to be sure, the work- 
 men showed a quarrelsome disposition. Like savage
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 171 
 
 beasts, they would doubtless have done one another a 
 mischief, if Cadmus had not kept watch over them and 
 quelled the fierce old serpent that lurked in their hearts, 
 when he saw it gleaming out of their wild eyes. But, in 
 course of time, they got accustomed to honest labour, and 
 had sense enough to feel that there was more true enjoy- 
 ment in living at peace, and doing good to one's neigh- 
 bour, than in striking at him with a two-edged sword. It 
 may not be too much to hope that the rest of mankind will 
 by and by grow as wise and peaceable as these five earth - 
 begrimed warriors, who sprang from the dragon's teeth. 
 
 And now the city was built, and there was a home in it 
 for each of the workmen. But the palace of Cadmus was 
 not yet erected, because they had left it till the last, mean- 
 ing to introduce all the new improvements of architecture, 
 and make it very commodious, as well as stately and 
 beautiful. After finishing the rest of their labours, they 
 all went to bed betimes, in order to rise in the gray of the 
 morning, and get at least the foundation of the edifice laid 
 before nightfall. But, when Cadmus arose, and took 
 his way toward the site where the palace was to be built, 
 followed by his five sturdy workmen marching all in a 
 row, what do you think he saw? 
 
 What should it be but the most magnificent palace that 
 had ever been seen in the world ? It was built of marble 
 and other beautiful kinds of stone, and rose high into the 
 ah-, with a splendid dome and a portico along the front, 
 and carved pillars, and everything else that befitted the 
 habitation of a mighty king. It had grown up out of the 
 earth in almost as short a time as it had taken the armed 
 host to spring from the dragon's teeth; and what made 
 the matter more strange, no seed of this stately edifice 
 had ever been planted.
 
 172 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 When the five workmen beheld the dome, with the 
 morning sunshine making it look golden and glorious, 
 they gave a great shout. 
 
 "Long live King Cadmus," they cried, "in his beautiful 
 palace." 
 
 And the new king, with his five faithful followers at 
 his heels, shouldering their pickaxes and marching in a 
 rank (for they still had a soldier-like sort of behaviour, as 
 their nature was), ascended the palace steps. Halting at 
 the entrance, they gazed through a long vista of lofty 
 pillars that were ranged from end to end of a great hall. 
 At the farther extremity of this hall, approaching slowly 
 toward him, Cadmus beheld a female figure, wonderfully 
 beautiful, and adorned with a royal robe, and a crown of 
 diamonds over her golden ringlets, and the richest neck- 
 lace that ever a queen wore. His heart thrilled with 
 delight. He fancied it his long-lost sister Europa, now 
 grown to womanhood, coming to make him happy, and 
 to repay him, with her sweet sisterly affection, for all 
 those weary wanderings in quest of her since he left King 
 Agenor's palace for the tears that he had shed, on parting 
 with Phoenix, and Cilix, and Thasus for the heart- 
 breakings that had made the whole world seem dismal to 
 him over his dear mother's grave. 
 
 But, as Cadmus advanced to meet the beautiful 
 stranger, he saw that her features were unknown to him, 
 although, in the little time that it required to tread along 
 the hall, he had already felt a sympathy betwixt himself 
 and her. 
 
 "No, Cadmus," said the same voice that had spoken 
 to him in the field of the armed men, "this is not that dear 
 sister Europa whom you have sought so faithfully all 
 over the wide world. This is Harmonia, a daughter of
 
 The Dragon's Teeth 173 
 
 the sky, who is given you instead of sister, and brothers, 
 and friend, and mother. You will find all those dear 
 ones in her alone." 
 
 So King Cadmus dwelt in the palace, with his new 
 friend Harmonia, and found a great deal of comfort in his 
 magnificent abode, but would doubtless have found as 
 much, if not more, in the humblest cottage by the wayside. 
 Before many years went by, there was a group of rosy little 
 children (but how they came thither has always been a 
 mystery to me) sporting in the great hall, and on the 
 marble steps of the palace, and running joyfully to meet 
 King Cadmus when affairs of state left him at leisure to 
 play with them. They called him father, and Queen 
 Harmonia mother. The five old soldiers of the dragon's 
 teeth grew very fond of these small urchins, and were 
 never weary of showing them how to shoulder sticks, 
 flourish wooden swords, and march in military order, 
 blowing a penny trumpet, or beating an abominable 
 rub-a-dub upon a little drum. 
 
 But King Cadmus, lest there should be too much of 
 the dragon's tooth in his children's disposition, used to 
 find time from his kingly duties to teach them their 
 A B C which he invented for their benefit, and for 
 which many little people, I am afraid, are not half so 
 grateful to him as they ought to be.
 
 CHAPTER VH 
 
 THE MIRACULOUS PITCHER 
 
 ONE evening, in times long ago, old Philemon and 
 his old wife Baucis sat at their cottage door, enjoying 
 the calm and beautiful sunset. They had already eaten 
 their frugal supper, and intended now to spend a quiet 
 hour or two before bedtime. So they talked together 
 about their garden, and their cow, and their bees, and 
 their grapevine, which clambered over the cottage wall, 
 and on which the grapes were beginning to turn purple. 
 But the rude shouts of children, and the fierce barking 
 of dogs, in the village near at hand, grew louder and 
 louder, until, at last, it was hardly possible for Baucis 
 and Philemon to hear each other speak. 
 
 "Ah, wife," cried Philemon, "I fear some poor trav- 
 eller is seeking hospitality among our neighbours yonder, 
 and, instead of giving him food and lodging, they have 
 set their dogs at him, as their custom is!" 
 
 "Well-a-day!" answered old Baucis, "I do wish our 
 neighbours felt a little more kindness for their fellow 
 creatures. And only think of bringing up their children 
 in this naughty way, and patting them on the head when 
 they fling stones at strangers!" 
 
 "Those children will never come to any good," said 
 Philemon, shaking his white head. "To tell you the 
 truth, wife, I should not wonder if some terrible thing 
 were to happen to all the people in the village, unless
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 175 
 
 they mend their manners. But, as for you and me, so 
 long as Providence affords us a crust of bread, let us be 
 ready to give half to any poor, homeless stranger that 
 may come along and need it." 
 
 " That's right, husband i " said Baucis. " So we will ! " 
 These old folks, you must know, were quite poor, 
 and had to work pretty hard for a living. Old Philemon 
 toiled diligently in his garden, while Baucis was always 
 busy with her distaff, or making a little butter and 
 cheese with their cow's milk, or doing one thing and 
 another about the cottage. Their food was seldom 
 anything but bread, milk, and vegetables, with some- 
 times a portion of honey from their beehive, and now 
 and then a bunch of grapes that had ripened against 
 the cottage wall. But they were two of the kindest 
 old people in the world, and would cheerfully have gone 
 without their dinners, any day, rather than refuse a 
 slice of their brown loaf, a cup of new milk, and a spoon- 
 ful of honey, to the weary traveller who might pause 
 before their door. They felt as if such guests had a 
 sort of holiness, and that they ought, therefore, to treaf 
 them better and more bountifully than their own selves. 
 Their cottage stood on a rising ground, at some short 
 distance from a village, which lay in a hollow valley 
 that was about half a mile in breadth. This valley, in 
 past ages, when the world was new, had probably been 
 the bed of a lake. There, fishes had glided to and fro 
 in the depths, and water weeds had grown along the 
 margin, and trees and hills had seen their reflected 
 images in the broad and peaceful mirror. But, as the 
 waters subsided, men had cultivated the soil, and built 
 houses on it, so that it was now a fertile spot, and bore 
 no traces of the ancient lake, except a very small brook,
 
 176 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 which meandered through the midst of the village, and 
 supplied the inhabitants with water. The valley had 
 been dry land so long that oaks had sprung up, and 
 grown great and high, and perished with old age, and 
 been succeeded by others, as tall and stately as the first. 
 Never was there a prettier or more fruitful valley. The 
 very sight of the plenty around them should have made 
 the inhabitants kind and gentle, and ready to show their 
 gratitude to Providence by doing good to their fellow 
 creatures. 
 
 But, we are sorry to say, the people of this lovely 
 village were not worthy to dwell in a spot on which 
 Heaven had smiled so beneficently. They were a very 
 selfish and hard-hearted people, and had no pity for 
 the poor, nor sympathy with the homeless. They would 
 only have laughed, had anybody told them that human 
 beings owe a debt of love to one another, because there 
 is no other method of paying the debt of love and care 
 which all of us owe to Providence. You will hardly 
 believe what I am going to tell you. These naughty 
 people taught their children to be no better than them- 
 selves, and used to clap their hands, by way of encour- 
 agement, when they saw the little boys and girls run after 
 some poor stranger, shouting at his heels, and pelting 
 him with stones. They kept large and fierce dogs, and 
 whenever a traveller ventured to show himself in the 
 village street, this pack of disagreeable curs scampered 
 to meet him, barking, snarling, and showing their teeth. 
 Then they would seize him by his leg, or by his clothes, 
 just as it happened ; and if he were ragged when he came, 
 he was generally a pitiable object before he had time to 
 run away. This was a very terrible thing to poor trav- 
 ellers, as you may suppose, especially when they chanced
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 177 
 
 to be sick, or feeble, or lame, or old. Such persons (if 
 they once knew how badly these unkind people, and 
 their unkind children and curs, were in the habit of 
 behaving) would go miles and miles out of their way, 
 rather than try to pass through the village again. 
 
 What made the matter seem worse, if possible, was 
 that when rich persons came in their chariots, or rid- 
 ing on beautiful horses, with their servants in rich liv- 
 eries attending on them, nobody could be more civil 
 and obsequious than the inhabitants of the village. 
 They would take off their hats, and make the humblest 
 bows you ever saw. If the children were rude, they 
 were pretty certain to get their ears boxed; and as for 
 the dogs, if a single cur in the pack presumed to yelp, 
 his master insta itly beat him with a club, and tied him 
 up without any supper. This would have been all very 
 well, only it proved that the villagers cared much about 
 the money that a stranger had in his pocket, and nothing 
 whatever for the human soul, which lives equally in the 
 beggar and the prince. 
 
 So now you can understand why old Philemon spoke 
 so sorrowfully, when he heard the shouts of the children 
 and the barking of the dogs, at the farther extremity of 
 the village street. There was a confused din, which 
 lasted a good while, and seemed to pass quite through 
 the breadth of the valley. 
 
 "I never heard the dogs so loud!" observed the good 
 old man. 
 
 "Nor the children so rude!" answered his good old 
 wife. 
 
 They sat shaking their heads, one to another, while 
 the noise came nearer and nearer; until, at the foot of 
 the little eminence on which their cottage stood, they
 
 178 Myths Every Child Should Kruno 
 
 saw two travellers approaching on foot. Close behind 
 them came the fierce dogs, snarling at their very heels. 
 A little farther off, ran a crowd of children, who sent 
 up shrill cries, and flung stones at the two strangers, 
 with all their might. Once or twice, the younger of 
 the two men (he was a slender and very active figure) 
 turned about and drove back the dogs with a staff which 
 he carried in his hand. His companion, who was a 
 very tall person, walked calmly along, as if disdaining 
 to notice either the naughty children, or the pack of curs, 
 whose manners the children seemed to imitate. 
 
 Both of the travellers were very humbly clad, and 
 looked as if they might not have money enough in their 
 pockets to pay for a night's lodging. And this, I am 
 afraid, was the reason why the villagers had allowed 
 their children and dogs to treat them so rudely. 
 
 "Come, wife," said Philemon to Baucis, "let us go 
 and meet these poor people. No doubt, they feel almost 
 too heavy hearted to climb the hill." 
 
 "Go you and meet them," answered Baucis, "while 
 I make haste within doors, and see whether we can get 
 them anything for supper. A comfortable bowl of 
 bread and milk would do wonders toward raising their 
 spirits." 
 
 Accordingly, she hastened into the cottage. Phile- 
 mon, on his part, went forward, and extended his hand 
 with so hospitable an aspect that there was no need of 
 saying what nevertheless he did say, in the heartiest tone 
 imaginable: 
 
 "Welcome, strangers! welcome!" 
 
 "Thank you!" replied the younger of the two, in a 
 lively kind of way, notwithstanding his weariness and 
 trouble. "This is quite another greeting than we have
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 179 
 
 met with yonder in the village. Pray, why do you live 
 in such a bad neighbourhood?" 
 
 "Ah!" observed old Philemon, with a quiet and benign 
 smile, "Providence put me here, I hope, among other 
 reasons, in order that I may make you what amends I 
 can for the inhospitality of my neighbours." 
 
 "Well said, old father!" cried the traveller, laugh- 
 ing; "and, if the truth must be told, my companion 
 and myself need some amends. Those children (the 
 little rascals!) have bespattered us finely with their 
 mud balls; and one of the curs has torn my cloak, which 
 was ragged enough already. But I took him across the 
 muzzle with my staff; and I think you may have heard 
 him yelp, even thus far off." 
 
 Philemon was glad to see him in such good spirits; 
 nor, indeed, would you have fancied, by the traveller's 
 look and manner, that he was weary with a long day's 
 journey, besides being disheartened by rough treatment 
 at the end of it. He was dressed in rather an odd way, 
 with a sort of cap on his head, the brim of which stuck 
 out over both ears. Though it was a summer evening, 
 he wore a cloak, which he kept wrapt closely about 
 him, perhaps because his undergannents were shabby. 
 Philemon perceived, too, that he had on a singular 
 pair of shoes; but, as it was now growing dusk, 
 and as the old man's eyesight was none the sharpest, 
 he could not precisely tell in what the strangeness 
 consisted. One thing, certainly, seemed queer. The 
 traveller was so wonderfully light and active that it 
 appeared as if his feet sometimes rose from the ground 
 of their own accord, or could only be kept down by 
 an effort. 
 
 "I used to be light footed, in my youth," said Phile-
 
 i8o Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 mon to the traveller. "But I always found my feet 
 grow heavier toward nightfall." 
 
 "There is nothing like a good staff to help one along," 
 answered the stranger; "and I happen to have an excel- 
 lent one, as you see." 
 
 This staff, in fact, was the oddest-looking staff that 
 Philemon had ever beheld. It was made of olive wood, 
 and had something like a little pair of wings near the 
 top. Two snakes, carved in the wood, were represented 
 as twining themselves about the staff, and were so very 
 skilfully executed that old Philemon (whose eyes, you 
 know, were getting rather dim) almost thought them 
 alive, and that he could see them wriggling and twisting. 
 
 "A curious piece of work, sure enough!" said he. "A 
 staff with wings! It would be an excellent kind of stick 
 for a little boy to ride astride of!" 
 
 By this time, Philemon and his two guests had reached 
 the cottage door. 
 
 "Friends," said the old man, "sit down and rest your- 
 selves here on this bench. My good wife Baucis has gone 
 to see what you can have for supper. We are poor 
 folks; but you shall be welcome to whatever we have in 
 the cupboard." 
 
 The younger stranger threw himself carelessly on 
 the bench, letting his staff fall as he did so. And here 
 happened something rather marvellous, though trifling 
 enough, too. The staff seemed to get up from the ground 
 of its own accord, and, spreading its little pair of wings, 
 it half hopped, half flew, and leaned itself against the 
 wall of the cottage. There it stood quite still, except 
 that the snakes continued to wriggle. But, in my private 
 opinion, old Philemon's eyesight had been playing him 
 tricks again.
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 181 
 
 Before he could ask any questions, the elder stranger 
 drew his attention from the wonderful staff, by speaking 
 to him. 
 
 "Was there not," asked the stranger, in a remarkably 
 deep tone of voice, "a lake, in very ancient times, cover- 
 ing the spot where now stands yonder village ? " 
 
 "Not in my day, friend," answered Philemon; "and 
 yet I am an old man, as you see. There were always 
 the fields and meadows, just as they are now, and the 
 old trees, and the little stream murmuring through the 
 midst of the valley. My father, nor his father before 
 him, ever saw it otherwise, so far as I know; and doubt- 
 less it will still be the same, when old Philemon shall be 
 gone and forgotten!" 
 
 "That is more than can be safely foretold," observed 
 the stranger; and there was something very stern in his 
 deep voice. He shook his head, too, so that his dark 
 and heavy curls were shaken with the movement. " Since 
 the inhabitants of yonder village have forgotten the 
 affections and sympathies of their nature, it were better 
 that the lake should be rippling over their dwellings 
 again!" 
 
 The traveller looked so stern that Philemon was 
 really almost frightened; the more so, that, at his frown, 
 the twilight seemed suddenly to grow darker, and that, 
 when he shook his head, there was a roll as of thunder 
 in the air. 
 
 But, in a moment afterward, the stranger's face be- 
 came so kindly and mild, that the old man quite forgot 
 his terror. Nevertheless, he could not help feeling that 
 this elder traveller must be no ordinary personage, 
 although he happened now to be attired so humbly and 
 to be journeying on foot. Not that Philemon fancied
 
 i8a Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 him a prince in disguise, or any character of that sort- 
 but rather some exceedingly wise man, who went about 
 the world in this poor garb, despising wealth and all 
 worldly objects, and seeking everywhere to add a mite 
 to his wisdom. This idea appeared the more probable, 
 because, when Philemon raised his eyes to the stranger's 
 face, he seemed to see more thought there, in one look, 
 than he could have studied out in a lifetime. 
 
 While Baucis was getting the supper, the travellers 
 both began to talk very sociably with Philemon. The 
 younger, indeed, was extremely loquacious, and made 
 such shrewd and witty remarks, that the good old man 
 continually burst out a-laughing, and pronounced him 
 the merriest fellow whom he had seen for many a day. 
 
 "Pray, my young friend," said he, as they grew 
 familiar together, "what may I call your name?" 
 
 "Why, I am very nimble, as you see," answered the 
 traveller. "So, if you call me Quicksilver, the name 
 will fit tolerably well." 
 
 "Quicksilver? Quicksilver?" repeated Philemon, look- 
 ing in the traveller's face, to see if he were making fun 
 of him. "It is a very odd name! And your companion 
 there? Has he as strange a one?" 
 
 "You must ask the thunder to tell it you!" replied 
 Quicksilver, putting on a mysterious look. "No other 
 voice is loud enough." 
 
 This remark, whether it were serious or in jest, might 
 have caused Philemon to conceive a very great awe of 
 the elder stranger, if, on venturing to gaze at him, he had 
 not beheld so much beneficence in his visage. But, 
 undoubtedly, here was the grandest figure that ever sat 
 so humbly beside a cottage door. When the stranger 
 conversed, it was with gravity, and in such a way that
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 183 
 
 Philemon felt irresistibly moved to tell him everything 
 which he had most at heart. This is always the feeling 
 that people have, when they meet with anyone wise 
 enough to comprehend all their good and evil, and to 
 despise not a tittle of it. 
 
 But Philemon, simple and kind-hearted old man that 
 he was, had not many secrets to disclose. He talked, 
 however, quite garrulously, about the events of his past 
 life, in the whole course of which he had never been a 
 score of miles from this very spot. His wife Baucis and 
 himself had dwelt in the cottage from their youth upward, 
 earning their bread by honest labour, always poor, but 
 still contented. He told what excellent butter and cheese 
 Baucis made, and how nice were the vegetables which 
 he raised in his garden. He said, too, that, because 
 they loved one another so very much, it was the wish 
 of both that death might not separate them, but that 
 they should die, as they had lived, together. 
 
 As the stranger listened, a smile beamed over his coun- 
 tenance, and made its expression as sweet as it was grand. 
 
 "You are a good old man," said he to Philemon, "and 
 you have a good old wife to be your helpmeet. It is fit 
 that your wish be granted." 
 
 And it seemed to Philemon, just then, as if the sunset 
 clouds threw up a bright flash from the west, and kindled 
 a sudden light in the sky. 
 
 Baucis had now got supper ready, and, coming to 
 the door, began to make apologies for the poor fare which 
 she was forced to set before her guests. 
 
 "Had we known you were coming," said she, "my 
 good man and myself would have gone without a morsel, 
 rather than you should lack a better supper. But I 
 took the most part of to-day's milk to make cheese;
 
 184 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 and our last loaf is already half eaten. Ah me! I never 
 feel the sorrow of being poor, save when a poor traveller 
 knocks at our door." 
 
 "All will be very well; do not trouble yourself, my 
 good dame," replied the elder stranger, kindly. "An 
 honest, hearty welcome to a guest works miracles with 
 the fare, and is capable of turning the coarsest food to 
 nectar and ambrosia." 
 
 "A welcome you shall have," cried Baucis, "and like- 
 wise a little honey that we happen to have left, and a 
 bunch of purple grapes besides." 
 
 "Why, Mother Baucis, it is a feast!" exclaimed 
 Quicksilver, laughing, "an absolute feast! and you 
 shall see how bravely I will play my part at it! I think 
 I never felt hungrier in my life." 
 
 "Mercy on us!" whispered Baucis to her husband. 
 "If the young man has such a terrible appetite, I am 
 afraid there will not be half enough supper!" 
 
 They all went into the cottage. 
 
 And, now, my little auditors, shall I tell you something 
 that will make you open your eyes very wide? It is 
 really one of the oddest circumstances in the whole 
 story. Quicksilver's staff, you recollect, had set itself 
 up against the wall of the cottage. Well; when its 
 master entered the door, leaving this wonderful staff 
 behind, what should it do but immediately spread its 
 little wings, and go hopping and fluttering up the door- 
 steps! Tap, tap, went the staff, on the kitchen floor; 
 nor did it rest until it had stood itself on end, with the 
 greatest gravity and decorum, beside Quicksilver's chair. 
 Old Philemon, however, as well as his wife, was so 
 taken up in attending to their guests, that no notice was 
 given to what the staff had been about.
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 185 
 
 As Baucis had said, there was but a scanty supper 
 for two hungry travellers. In the middle of the table 
 was the remnant of a brown loaf, with a piece of cheese 
 on one side of it, and a dish of honeycomb on the other. 
 There was a pretty good bunch of grapes for each of the 
 guests. A moderately sized earthen pitcher, nearly 
 full of milk, stood at a corner of the board; and when 
 Baucis had filled two bowls, and set them before the 
 strangers, only a little milk remained in the bottom of the 
 pitcher. Alas! it is a very sad business, when a bountiful 
 heart finds itself pinched and squeezed among narrow 
 circumstances. Poor Baucis kept wishing that she 
 might starve for a week to come, if it were possible, by 
 so doing, to provide these hungry folks a more plentiful 
 supper. 
 
 And, since the supper was so exceedingly small, she 
 could not help wishing that their appetites had not been 
 quite so large. Why, at their very first sitting down, 
 the travellers both drank off all the milk in their two 
 bowls, at a draught. 
 
 "A little more milk, kind Mother Baucis, if you please," 
 said Quicksilver. "The day has been hot, and I am 
 very much athirst." 
 
 "Now, my dear people," answered Baucis, in great 
 confusion, "I am so sorry and ashamed! But the 
 truth is, there is hardly a drop more milk in the pitcher. 
 O husband! husband 1 why didn't we go without our 
 supper?" 
 
 "Why, it appears to me," cried Quicksilver, starting 
 up from the table and taking the pitcher by the handle, 
 "it really appears to me that matters are not quite 
 so bad as you represent them. Here is certainly more 
 milk in the pitcher."
 
 i86 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 So saying, and to the vast astonishment of Baucis, 
 he proceeded to fill, not only his own bowl, but his 
 companion's likewise, from the pitcher, that was supposed 
 to be almost empty. The good woman could scarcely 
 believe her eyes. She had certainly poured out nearly 
 all the milk, and had peeped in afterward, and seen the 
 bottom of the pitcher, as she set it down upon the table. 
 
 "But I am old," thought Baucis to herself, "and 
 apt to be forgetful. I suppose I must have made a 
 mistake. At all events, the pitcher cannot help being 
 empty now, after filling the bowls twice over." 
 
 "What excellent milk!" observed Quicksilver, after 
 quaffing the contents of the second bowl. "Excuse me, 
 my kind hostess, but I must really ask ycu for a little 
 more." 
 
 Now Baucis had seen, as plainly as she could see 
 anything, that Quicksilver had turned the pitcher upside 
 down, and consequently had poured out every drop 
 of milk, in filling the last bowl. Of course, there could 
 not possibly be any left. However, in order to let him 
 know precisely how the case was, she lifted the pitcher, 
 and made a gesture as if pouring milk into Quicksilver's 
 bowl, but without the remotest idea that any milk would 
 stream forth. What was her surprise, therefore, when 
 such an abundant cascade fell bubbling into the bowl, that 
 it was immediately filled to the brim, and overflowed upon 
 the table! The two snakes that were twisted about 
 Quicksilver's staff (but neither Baucis nor Philemon 
 happened to observe this circumstance) stretched out their 
 heads, and began to lap up the spilt milk. 
 
 And then what a delicious fragrance the milk had! 
 It seemed as if Philemon's only cow must have pastured, 
 that day, on the richest herbage that could be found
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 187 
 
 anywhere in the world. I only wish that each of you, 
 my beloved little souls, could have a bowl of such nice 
 milk, at supper time! 
 
 "And now a slice of your brown loaf, Mother Baucis," 
 said Quicksilver, "and a little of that honey!" 
 
 Baucis cut him a slice, accordingly; and though the 
 loaf, when she and her husband ate of it, had been 
 rather too dry and crusty to be palatable, it was now as 
 light and moist as if but a few hours out of the oven. 
 Tasting a crumb, which had fallen on the table, she 
 found it more delicious than bread ever was before, 
 and could hardly believe that it was a loaf of her own 
 kneading and baking. Yet, what other loaf could it 
 possibly be? 
 
 But, oh the honey! I may just as well let it alone, 
 without trying to describe how exquisitely it smelt and 
 looked. Its colour was that of the purest and most 
 transparent gold; and it had the odour of a thousand 
 flowers; but of such flowers as never grew in an earthly 
 garden, and to seek which the bees must have flown 
 high above the clouds. The wonder is, that, after 
 alighting on a flower bed of so delicious fragrance and 
 immortal bloom, they should have been content to fly 
 down again to their hive in Philemon's garden. Never 
 was such honey tasted, seen, or smelt. The perfume 
 floated around the kitchen, and made it so delightful, 
 that, had you closed your eyes, you would instantly 
 have forgotten the low ceiling and smoky walls, and have 
 fancied yourself in an arbour, with celestial honeysuckles 
 creeping over it. 
 
 Although good Mother Baucis was a simple old 
 dame, she could not but think that there was something 
 rather out of the common way, in all that had been
 
 *88 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 going on. So, after helping the guests to bread and 
 honey, and laying a bunch of grapes by each of their 
 plates, she sat down by Philemon, and told him what she 
 had seen, in a whisper. 
 
 "Did you ever hear the like?" asked she. 
 
 "No, I never did," answered Philemon, with a smile 
 "And I rather think, my dear old wife, you have been 
 walking about in a sort of a dream. If I had poured 
 out the milk, I should have seen through the business 
 at once. There happened to be a little more in the 
 pitcher than you thought that is all." 
 
 "Ah, husband," said Baucis, "say what you will, 
 these are very uncommon people." 
 
 "Well, well," replied Philemon, still smiling, "perhaps 
 they are. They certainly do look as if they had seen 
 better days; and I am heartily glad to see them making 
 so comfortable a supper." 
 
 Each of the guests had now taken his bunch of grapes 
 upon his plate. Baucis (who rubbed her eyes, in order 
 to see the more clearly) was of opinion that the clusters 
 had grown larger and richer, and that each separate 
 grape seemed to be on the point of bursting with ripe 
 juice. It was entirely a mystery to her how such grapes 
 could ever have been produced from the old stunted vine 
 that climbed against the cottage wall. 
 
 "Very admirable grapes these!" observed Quicksilver, 
 as he swallowed one after another, without apparently 
 diminishing his cluster. "Pray, my good host, whence 
 did you gather them?" 
 
 "From my own vine," answered Philemon. "You 
 may see one of its branches twisting across the window, 
 yonder. But wife and I never thought the grapes very 
 fine ones."
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 189 
 
 "I never tasted better," said the guest. "Another 
 cup of this delicious milk, if you please, and I shall then 
 have supped better than a prince." 
 
 This time, old Philemon bestirred himself, and took 
 up the pitcher; for he was curious to discover whether 
 there was any reality in the marvels which Baucis had 
 whispered to him. He knew that his good old wife 
 was incapable of falsehood, and that she was seldom 
 mistaken in what she supposed to be true; but this 
 was so very singular a case, that he wanted to see into 
 it with his own eyes. On taking up the pitcher, there- 
 fore, he slyly peeped into it, and was fully satisfied 
 that it contained not so much as a single drop. All at 
 once, however, he beheld a little white fountain, which 
 gushed up from the bottom of the pitcher, and speedily 
 filled it to the brim with foaming and deliciously fragrant 
 milk. It was lucky that Philemon, in his surprise, 
 did not drop the miraculous pitcher from his hand. 
 
 "Who are ye, wonder-working strangers!" cried he, 
 even more bewildered than his wife had been. 
 
 "Your guests, my good Philemon, and your friends," 
 replied the elder traveller, in his mild, deep voice, that 
 had something at once sweet and awe-inspiring in it. 
 "Give me likewise a cup of the milk; and may your 
 pitcher never be empty for kind Baucis and yourself, 
 any more than for the needy wayfarer!" 
 
 The supper being now over, the strangers requested 
 to be shown to their place of repose. The old people 
 would gladly have talked with them a little longer, and 
 have expressed the wonder which they felt, and their 
 delight at finding the poor and meagre supper prove 
 so much better and more abundant than they hoped. 
 But the elder traveller had inspired them with such
 
 1 90 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 reverence, that they dared not ask him any questions, 
 And when Philemon drew Quicksilver aside, and inquired 
 how under the sun a fountain of milk could have got 
 into an old earthen pitcher, this latter personage 
 pointed to his staff. 
 
 "There is the whole mystery of the affair," quoth 
 Quicksilver; "and if you can make it out, I'll thank 
 you to let me know. I can't tell what to make of my 
 staff. It is always playing such odd tricks as this; 
 sometimes getting me a supper, and, quite as often, 
 stealing it away. If I had any faith in such nonsense, 
 I should say the stick was bewitched!" 
 
 He said no more, but looked so slyly in their faces, 
 that they rather fancied he was laughing at them. The 
 magic staff went hopping at his heels, as Quicksilver 
 quitted the room. When left alone, the good old couple 
 spent some little time in conversation about the events 
 of the evening, and then lay down on the floor, and fell 
 fast asleep. They had given up their sleeping room to 
 the guests, and had no other bed for themselves, save 
 these planks, which I wish had been as soft as their 
 own hearts. 
 
 The old man and his wife were stirring, betimes, in 
 the morning, and the strangers likewise arose with the 
 sun, and made their preparations to depart. Philemon 
 hospitably entreated them to remain a little longer, 
 until Baucis could milk the cow, and bake a cake upon 
 the hearth, and, perhaps, find them a few fresh eggs 
 for breakfast. The guests, however, seemed to think 
 it better to accomplish a good part of their journey 
 before the heat of the day should come on. They, 
 therefore, persisted in setting out immediately, but 
 asked Philemon and Baucis to walk forth with them
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 191 
 
 a short distance, and show them the road which they 
 were to take. 
 
 So they all four issued from the cottage, chatting 
 together like old friends. It was very remarkable, 
 indeed, how familiar the old couple insensibly grew with 
 the elder traveller, and how their good and simple 
 spirits melted into his, even as two drops of water would 
 melt into the illimitable ocean. And as for Quicksilver, 
 with his keen, quick, laughing wits, he appeared to 
 discover every little thought that but peeped into their 
 minds, before they suspected it themselves. They 
 sometimes wished, it is true, that he had not been quite 
 so quick-witted, and also that he would fling away his 
 staff, which looked so mysteriously mischievous, with 
 the snakes always writhing about it. But then, again, 
 Quicksilver showed himself so very good humoured 
 that they would have been rejoiced to keep him in their 
 cottage, staff, snakes, and all, every day, and the whole 
 day long. 
 
 "Ah me! Well-a-day!" exclaimed Philemon, when 
 they had walked a little way from their door. "If our 
 neighbours only knew what a blessed thing it is to show 
 hospitality to strangers, they would tie up all their 
 dogs, and never allow their children to fling another 
 stone." 
 
 "It is a sin and shame for them to behave so that 
 it is!" cried good old Baucis, vehemently. "And I 
 mean to go this very day, and tell some of them what 
 naughty people they are!" 
 
 "I fear," remarked Quicksilver, slyly smiling, "that 
 you will find none of them at home." 
 
 The elder traveller's brow, just then, assumed such 
 a grave, stern, and awful grandeur, yet serene withal
 
 192 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 that neither Baucis nor Philemon dared to speak a 
 word. They gazed reverently into his face, as if they 
 had been gazing at the sky. 
 
 "When men do not feel toward the humblest stranger 
 as if he were a brother," said the traveller, in tones 
 so deep that they sounded like those of an organ, "they 
 are unworthy to exist on earth, which was created as 
 the abode of a great human brotherhood!" 
 
 "And, by the by, my dear old people," cried Quick- 
 silver, with the liveliest look of fun and mischief in 
 his eyes, "where is this same village that you talk about? 
 On which side of us does it lie ? Methinks I do not see 
 it hereabouts." 
 
 Philemon and his wife turned toward the valley, 
 where, at sunset, only the day before, they had seen 
 the meadows, the houses, the gardens, the clumps of 
 trees, the wide, green-margined street, with children 
 playing in it, and all the tokens of business, enjoyment, 
 and prosperity. But what was their astonishment! 
 There was no longer any appearance of a village! Even 
 the fertile vale, in the hollow of which it lay, had ceased 
 to have existence. In its stead, they beheld the broad, 
 blue surface of a lake, which filled the great basin of the 
 valley from brim to brim, and reflected the surrounding 
 hills in its bosom with as tranquil an image as if it had 
 been there ever since the creation of the world. For an 
 instant, the lake remained perfectly smooth. Then a 
 little breeze sprang up, and caused the water to dance, 
 glitter, and sparkle in the early sunbeams, and to dash, 
 with a pleasant rippling murmur, against the hither 
 shore. 
 
 The lake seemed so strangely familiar that the old 
 couple were greatly perplexed, and felt as if they could
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 193 
 
 only have been dreaming about a village having lain 
 there. But, the next moment, they remembered the 
 vanished dwellings, and the faces and characters of 
 the inhabitants, far too distinctly for a dream. The 
 village had been there yesterday, and now was gonel 
 
 "Alas!" cried the kind-hearted old people, "what 
 has become of our poor neighbours?" 
 
 "They exist no longer as men and women," said the 
 elder traveller, in his grand and deep voice, while a 
 roll of thunder seemed to echo it at a distance. "There 
 was neither use nor beauty in such a life as theirs; for 
 they never softened or sweetened the hard lot of mortality 
 by the exercise of kindly affections between man and 
 man. They retained no image of the better life in their 
 bosoms; therefore, the lake, that was of old, has spread 
 itself forth again, to reflect the sky!" 
 
 "And as for those foolish people," said Quicksilver, 
 with his mischievous smile, "they are all transformed 
 to fishes. There needed but little change, for they 
 were already a scaly set of rascals, and the coldest- 
 blooded beings in existence. So, kind Mother Baucis, 
 whenever you or your husband have an appetite for a 
 dish of broiled trout, he can throw in a line, and pull 
 out half a dozen of your old neighbours 1" 
 
 "Ah," cried Baucis, shuddering, "I would not, for 
 the world, put one of them on the gridiron!" 
 
 "No," added Philemon, making a wry face, "we 
 could never relish them!" 
 
 "As for you, good Philemon," continued the elder 
 traveller "and you, kind Baucis you, with your 
 scanty means, have mingled so much heartfelt hospitality 
 with your entertainment of the homeless stranger, that 
 the milk became an inexhaustible fount of nectar, and
 
 194 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 the brown loaf and the honey were ambrosia. Thus, the 
 divinities have feasted, at your board, off the same viands 
 that supply their banquets on Olympus. You have 
 done well, my dear old friends. Wherefore, request 
 whatever favour you have most at heart, and it is granted." 
 
 Philemon and Baucis looked at one another, and 
 then I know not which of the two it was who spoke, 
 but that one uttered the desire of both their hearts. 
 
 "Let us live together, while we live, and leave the 
 world at the same instant, when we die! For we have 
 always loved one another 1" 
 
 "Be it so!" replied the stranger, with majestic kind- 
 ness. "Now, look toward your cottage!" 
 
 They did so. But what was their surprise on behold- 
 ing a tall edifice of white marble, with a wide-open portal, 
 occupying the spot where their humble residence had so 
 lately stood! 
 
 "There is your home," said the stranger, beneficently 
 smiling on them both. "Exercise your hospitality in 
 yonder palace as freely as in the poor hovel to which 
 you welcomed us last evening." 
 
 The old folks fell on their knees to thank him; but, 
 behold! neither he nor Quicksilver was there. 
 
 So Philemon and Baucis took up their residence in 
 the marble palace, and spent their time, with vast sat- 
 isfaction to themselves, in making everybody jolly and 
 comfortable who happened to pass that way. The 
 milk pitcher, I must not forget to say, retained its mar- 
 vellous quality of being never empty, when it was desir- 
 able to have it full. Whenever an honest, good- 
 humoured, and free-hearted guest took a draught from 
 this pitcher, he invariably found it the sweetest and 
 most invigorating fluid that ever ran down his throat
 
 The Miraculous Pitcher 195 
 
 But, if a cross and disagreeable curmudgeon happened 
 to sip, he was pretty certain to twist his visage into a 
 hard knot, and pronounce it a pitcher of sour milk! 
 
 Thus the old couple lived in their palace a great, great 
 while, and grew older and older, and very old indeed. 
 At length, however, there came a summer morning 
 when Philemon and Baucis failed to make their appear- 
 ance, as on other mornings, with one hospitable smile 
 overspreading both their pleasant faces, to invite the 
 guests of over night to breakfast. The guests searched 
 everywhere, from top to bottom of the spacious palace, 
 and all to no purpose. But, after a great deal of perplex- 
 ity, they espied, in front of the portal, two venerable 
 trees, which nobody could remember to have seen there 
 the day before. Yet there they stood, with their roots 
 fastened deep into the soil, and a huge breadth of foliage 
 overshadowing the whole front of the edifice. One was 
 an oak, and the other a linden tree. Their boughs it 
 was strange and beautiful to see were intertwined 
 together, and embraced one another, so that each tree 
 seemed to live in the other tree's bosom much more than 
 in its own. 
 
 While the guests were marvelling how these trees, 
 that must have required at least a century to grow, 
 could have come to be so tall and venerable in a single 
 night, a breeze sprang up, and set their intermingled 
 boughs astir. And then there was a deep, broad murmur 
 in the air, as if the two mysterious trees were speaking. 
 
 "I am old Philemon!" murmured the oak. 
 
 "I am old Baucis!" murmured the linden tree. 
 
 But, as the breeze grew stronger, the trees both spoke 
 at once "Philemon! Baucis! Baucis! Philemon 1" as 
 if one were both and both were one, and talked together
 
 196 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 in the depths of their mutual heart. It was plain enough 
 to perceive that the good old couple had renewed their 
 age, and were now to spend a quiet and delightful hun- 
 dred years or so, Philemon as an oak, and Baucis as a 
 linden tree. And oh, what a hospitable shade did they 
 fling around them. "Whenever a wayfarer paused be- 
 neath it, he heard a pleasant whisper of the leaves above 
 his head, and wondered how the sound should so much 
 resemble words like these: 
 
 "Welcome, welcome, dear traveller, welcome t" 
 And some kind soul, that knew what would have 
 pleased old Baucis and old Philemon best, built a cir- 
 cular seat around both their trunks, where, for a great 
 while afterward the weary, and the hungry, and the 
 thirsty used to repose themselves, and quaff milk abun- 
 dantly out of the miraculous pitcher. 
 
 And I wish, for all our sakes, that we had the pitcher 
 here now'
 
 CHAPTER VIE 
 
 THE PARADISE OF CHILDREN 
 
 LONG, long ago, when this old world was in its tender 
 infancy, there was a child, named Epimetheus, who never 
 had either father or mother; and, that he might not be 
 lonely, another child, fatherless and motherless like him- 
 self, was sent from a far country, to live with him, and be 
 his playfellow and helpmate. Her name was Pandora. 
 
 The first thing that Pandora saw, when she entered 
 the cottage where Epimetheus dwelt, was a great box. 
 And almost the first question which she put to him, 
 after crossing the threshold, was this: 
 
 "Epimetheus, what have you in that box?" 
 
 "My dear little Pandora," answered Epimetheus, 
 "that is a secret, and you must be kind enough not to 
 ask any questions about it. The box was left here to 
 be kept safely, and I do not myself know what it con- 
 tains." 
 
 "But who gave it to you?" asked Pandora. "And 
 where did it come from?" 
 
 "That is a secret, too," replied Epimetheus. 
 
 "How provoking!" exclaimed Pandora, pouting her 
 lip. "I wish the great ugly box were out of the way!" 
 
 "Oh, come, don't think of it any more," cried Epime- 
 theus. "Let us run out of doors, and have some nice 
 play with the other children." 
 
 It is thousands of years since Epimetheus and Pan> 
 97
 
 198 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 dora were alive; and the world, nowadays, is a very 
 different sort of thing from what it was in their time. 
 Then, everybody was a child. There needed no fathers 
 and mothers to take care of the children; because there 
 was no danger, nor trouble of any kind, and no clothes 
 to be mended, and there was always plenty to eat and 
 drink. Whenever a child wanted his dinner, he found 
 it growing on a tree; and, if he looked at the tree in the 
 morning, he could see the expanding blossom of that 
 night's supper; or, at eventide, he saw the tender bud of 
 to-morrow's breakfast. It was a very pleasant life indeed. 
 No labour to be done, no tasks to be studied; nothing 
 but sports and dances, and sweet voices of children talk- 
 ing, or carolling like birds, or gushing out in merry laugh- 
 ter, throughout the livelong day. 
 
 What was most wonderful of all, the children never 
 quarrelled among themselves; neither had they any 
 crying fits; nor, since time first began, had a single 
 one of these little mortals ever gone apart into a corner, 
 and sulked. Oh, what a good time was that to be alive 
 in! The truth is, those ugly little winged monsters, 
 called Troubles, which are now almost as numerous as 
 mosquitoes, had never yet been seen on the earth. It 
 is probable that the very greatest disquietude which a 
 child had ever experienced was Pandora's vexation at 
 not being able to discover the secret of the mysterious 
 box. 
 
 This was at first only the faint shadow of a Trouble; 
 but, every day, it grew more and more substantial, 
 until, before a great while, the cottage of Epimetheus 
 and Pandora was less sunshiny than those of the other 
 children. 
 
 "Whence can the box have come?" Pandora con-
 
 The Paradise of Children 199 
 
 tinually kept saying to herself and to Epimetheus. "And 
 what in the world can be inside of it?" 
 
 "Always talking about this box!" said Epimetheus, 
 at last; for he had grown extremely tired of the subject. 
 "I wish, dear Pandora, you would try to talk of some- 
 thing else. Come, let us go and gather some ripe figs, 
 and eat them under the trees, for our supper. And I 
 know a vine that has the sweetest and juiciest grapes 
 you ever tasted." 
 
 "Always talking about grapes and .figs!" cried Pandora, 
 pettishly. 
 
 "Well, then," said Epimetheus, who was a very good- 
 tempered child, like a multitude of children in those 
 days, "let us run out and have a merry time with our 
 playmates." 
 
 "I am tired of merry times, and don't care if I never 
 have any more!" answered our pettish little Pandora. 
 "And, besides, I never do have any. This ugly box! 
 I am so taken up with thinking about it all the time. I 
 insist upon your telling me what is inside of it." 
 
 "As I have already said, fifty times over, I do not 
 know ! " replied Epimetheus, getting a little vexed. "How, 
 then, can I tell you what is inside?" 
 
 "You might open it," said Pandora, looking side- 
 ways at Epimetheus, "and then we could see for our- 
 selves." 
 
 "Pandora, what are you thinking of?" exclaimed 
 Epimetheus. 
 
 And his face expressed so much horror at the idea 
 of looking into a box, which had been confided to him 
 on the condition of his never opening it, that Pandora 
 thought it best not to suggest it any more. Still, however, 
 she could not help thinking and talking about the box.
 
 aoo Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "At least," said she, "you can tell me how it came 
 here." 
 
 "It was left at the door," replied Epimetheus, "just 
 before you came, by a person who looked very smiling 
 and intelligent, and who could hardly forbear laughing 
 as he put it down. He was dressed in an odd kind of a 
 cloak, and had on a cap that seemed to be made partly 
 of feathers, so that it looked almost as if it had wings." 
 
 "What sort of a staff had he?" asked Pandora. 
 
 "Oh, the most curious staff you ever saw!" cried 
 Epimetheus. "It was like two serpents twisting around 
 a stick, and was carved so naturally that I, at first, thought 
 the serpents were alive." 
 
 "I know him," said Pandora, thoughtfully. "No- 
 body else has such a staff. It was Quicksilver; and 
 he brought me hither, as well as the box. No doubt 
 he intended it for me; and, most probably, it contains 
 pretty dresses for me to wear, or toys for you and me 
 to play with, or something very nice for us both to eat!" 
 
 "Perhaps so," answered Epimetheus, turning away, 
 "But until Quicksilver comes back and tells us so, we 
 have neither of us any right to lift the lid of the box." 
 
 "What a dull boy he is!" muttered Pandora, as 
 Epimetheus left the cottage. "I do wish he had a 
 little more enterprise!" 
 
 For the first time since her arrival, Epimetheus had 
 gone out without asking Pandora to accompany him. 
 He went to gather figs and grapes by himself, or to 
 seek whatever amusement he could find, in other society 
 than his little playfellow's. He was tired to death 
 of hearing about the box, and heartily wished that 
 Quicksilver, or whatever was the messenger's name, 
 had left it at some other child's door, where Pandora
 
 The Paradise of Children aoi 
 
 would never have set eyes on it. So perseveringly as 
 did she babble about this one thing! The box, the 
 box, and nothing but the box! It seemed as if the box 
 were bewitched, and as if the cottage were not big enough 
 to hold it, without Pandora's continually stumbling over 
 it, and making Epimetheus stumble over it likewise, and 
 bruising all four of their shins. 
 
 Well, it was really hard that poor Epimetheus should 
 have a box in his ears from morning till night; especially 
 as the little people of the earth were so unaccustomed 
 to vexations, in those happy days, that they knew not 
 how to deal with them. Thus, a small vexation made 
 as much disturbance then as a far bigger one would in 
 our own times. 
 
 After Epimetheus was gone, Pandora stood gazing 
 at the box. She had called it ugly, above a hundred 
 times; but, in spite of all that she had said against it, 
 it was positively a very handsome article of furniture, 
 and would have been quite an ornament to any room 
 in which it should be placed. It was made of a beau- 
 tiful kind of wood, with dark and rich veins spreading 
 over its surface, which was so highly polished that little 
 Pandora could see her face in it. As the child had no 
 other looking glass, it is odd that she did not value the 
 box, merely on this account. 
 
 The edges and corners of the box were carved with 
 most wonderful skill. Around the margin there were 
 figures of graceful men and women, and the prettiest 
 children ever seen, reclining or sporting amid a pro- 
 fusion of flowers and foliage; and these various objects 
 were so exquisitely represented, and were wrought 
 together in such harmony, that flowers, foliage, and 
 human beings seemed to combine into a wreath of mingled
 
 *oa Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 beauty. But here and there, peeping forth from behind 
 the carved foliage, Pandora once or twice fancied that 
 she saw a face not so lovely, or something or other that 
 was disagreeable, and which stole the beauty out of all 
 the rest. Nevertheless, on looking more closely, and 
 touching the spot with her finger, she could discover 
 nothing of the kind. Some face that was really beautiful 
 had been made to look ugly by her catching a sideway 
 glimpse at it. 
 
 The most beautiful face of all was done in what is 
 called high relief, in the centre of the lid. There was 
 nothing else, save the dark, smooth richness of the 
 polished wood, and this one face in the centre, with a 
 garland of flowers about its brow. Pandora had looked 
 at this face a great many times, and imagined that the 
 mouth could smile if it liked, or be grave when it chose, 
 the same as any living mouth. The features, indeed, 
 all wore a very lively and rather mischievous expression, 
 which looked almost as if it needs must burst out of 
 the carved lips, and utter itself in words. 
 
 Had the mouth spoken, it would probably have been 
 something like this: 
 
 "Do not be afraid, Pandora! What harm can there 
 be in opening the box? Never mind that poor, simple 
 Epimetheus! You are wiser than he, and have ten 
 times as much spirit. Open the box, and see if you do 
 not find something very pretty!" 
 
 The box, I had almost forgotten to say, was fastened ; 
 not by a lock, nor by any other such contrivance, but 
 by a very intricate knot of gold cord. There appeared 
 to be no end to this knot, and no beginning. Never 
 was a knot so cunningly twisted, nor with so many ins 
 and outs, which roguishly defied the skilfullest fingers
 
 The Paradise of Children 203 
 
 to disentangle them. And yet, by the very difficulty 
 that there was in it, Pandora was the more tempted to 
 examine the knot, and just see how it was made. Two 
 or three times, already, she had stooped over the box, 
 and taken the knot between her thumb and forefinger, 
 but without positively trying to undo it. 
 
 "I really believe," said she to herself, "that I begin 
 to see how it was done. Nay, perhaps I could tie it 
 up again, after undoing it. There would be no harm 
 in that, surely. Even Epimetheus would not blame 
 me for that. I need not open the box, and should not, 
 of course, without the foolish boy's consent, even if the 
 knot were untied." 
 
 It might have been better for Pandora if she had 
 had a little work to do, or anything to employ her mind 
 upon, so as not to be so constantly thinking of this one 
 subject. But children led so easy a life, before any 
 Troubles came into the world, that they had really a 
 great deal too much leisure. They could not be forever 
 playing at hide-and-seek among the flower shrubs, or 
 at blind-man's-buff with garlands over their eyes, or at 
 whatever other games had been found out, while Mother 
 Earth was in her babyhood. When life is all sport, toil 
 is the real play. There was absolutely nothing to do. 
 A little sweeping and dusting about the cottage, I sup- 
 pose, and the gathering of fresh flowers (which were only 
 too abundant everywhere), and arranging them in vases 
 and poor little Pandora's day's work was over. And 
 then, for the rest of the day, there was the box! 
 
 After all, I am not quite sure that the box was not 
 a blessing to her in its way. It supplied her with such 
 a variety of ideas to think of, and to talk about, when- 
 ever she had anybody to listen 1 When she was in good
 
 204 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 humour, she could admire the bright polish of its sides, 
 and the rich border of beautiful faces and foliage that 
 ran all around it. Or, if she chanced to be ill-tempered, 
 she could give it a push, or kick it with her naughty 
 little foot. And many a kick did the box (but it was 
 a mischievous box, as we shall see, and deserved all it 
 got) many a kick did it receive. But, certain it is, 
 if it had not been for the box, our active-minded little 
 Pandora would not have known half so well how to spend 
 her time as she now did. 
 
 For it was really an endless employment to guess 
 what was inside. What could it be, indeed? Just 
 imagine, my little hearers, how busy your wits would 
 be, if there were a great box in the house, which, as you 
 might have reason to suppose, contained something new 
 and pretty for your Christmas or New Year's gifts. Do 
 you think that you should be less curious than Pandora ? 
 If you were left alone with the box, might you not feel 
 a little tempted to lift the lid? But you would not do 
 it. Oh, fie! No, no! Only, if you thought there were 
 toys in it, it would be so very hard to let slip an oppor- 
 tunity of taking just one peep! I know not whether 
 Pandora expected any toys; for none had yet begun to 
 be made, probably, in those days, when the world itself 
 was one great plaything for the children that dwelt 
 upon it. But Pandora was convinced that there was 
 something very beautiful and valuable in the box; and 
 therefore she felt just as anxious to take a peep as any 
 of these little girls, here around me, would have felt. 
 And, possibly, a little more so; but of that I am not 
 auite so certain. 
 
 On this particular day, however, which we have so 
 long been talking about, her curiosity grew so much
 
 The Paradise of Children 205 
 
 greater than it usually was, that, at last, she approached 
 the box. She was more than half determined to open it, 
 if she could. Ah, naughty Pandora! 
 
 First, however, she tried to lift it. It was heavy; quite 
 too heavy for the slender strength of a child like Pandora. 
 She raised one end of the box a few inches from the 
 floor, and let it fall again, with a pretty loud thump. 
 A moment afterward, she almost fancied that she heard 
 something stir inside of the box. She applied her ear as 
 closely as possible, and listened. Positively, there did 
 seem to be a kind of stifled murmur within! Or was it 
 merely the singing in Pandora's ears? Or could it be 
 the beating of her heart? The child could not quite 
 satisfy herself whether she had heard anything or no. 
 But, at all events, her curiosity was stronger than ever. 
 
 As she drew back her head, her eyes fell upon the 
 knot of gold cord. 
 
 "It must have been a very ingenious person who 
 tied this knot," said Pandora to herself. "But I think 
 I could untie it nevertheless. I am resolved, at least, 
 to find the two ends of the cord." 
 
 So she took the golden knot in her fingers, and pried 
 into its intricacies as sharply as she could. Almost 
 without intending it, or quite knowing what she was 
 about, she was soon busily engaged in attempting to undo 
 it. Meanwhile, the bright sunshine came through the 
 open window; as did likewise the merry voices of the 
 children, playing at a distance, and perhaps the voice 
 of Epimetheus among them. Pandora stopped to listen. 
 What a beautiful day it was! Would it not be wiser if 
 she were to let the troublesome knot alone, and think no 
 more about the box, but run and join her little playfeUow 
 and be happy?
 
 206 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 All this time, however, her fingers were half uncon- 
 sciously busy with the knot; and happening to glance at 
 the flower-wreathed face on the lid of the enchanted box, 
 she seemed to perceive it slyly grinning at her. 
 
 "That face looks very mischievous," thought Pandora. 
 "I wonder whether it smiles because I am doing wrong! 
 I have the greatest mind in the world to run away!" 
 
 But just then, by the merest accident, she gave the 
 knot a kind of twist, which produced a wonderful result. 
 The gold cord untwined itself, as if by magic, and left the 
 box without a fastening. 
 
 "This is the strangest thing I ever knew! " said Pandora. 
 "What will Epimetheus say? And how can I possibly 
 tie it up again?" 
 
 She made one or two attempts to restore the knot, 
 but soon found it quite beyond her skill. It had disen- 
 tangled itself so suddenly that she could not in the 
 least remember how the strings had been doubled into 
 one another; and when she tried to recollect the shape 
 and appearance of the knot, it seemed to have gone 
 entirely out of her mind. Nothing was to be done, 
 therefore, but to let the box remain as it was until Epime- 
 theus should come in. 
 
 "But," said Pandora, "when he finds the knot untied, 
 he will know that I have done it. How shall I make him 
 believe that I have not looked into the box?" 
 
 And then the thought came into her naughty little 
 heart, that, since she would be suspected of having 
 looked into the box, she might just as well do so at 
 once. Oh, very naughty and very foolish Pandora! 
 You should have thought only of doing what was right, 
 and of leaving undone what was wrong, and not of 
 what your playfellow Epimetheus would have said or
 
 The Paradise of Children 207 
 
 believed. And so perhaps she might, if the enchanted 
 face on the lid of the box had not looked so bewitchingly 
 persuasive at her, and if she had not seemed to hear, 
 more distinctly, than before, the murmur of small voices 
 within. She could not tell whether it was fancy or no; 
 but there was quite a little tumult of whispers in her 
 ear or else it was her curiosity that whispered: 
 
 "Let us out, dear Pandora pray let us out! We 
 will be such nice pretty playfellows for you! Only 
 let us out!" 
 
 "What can it be?" thought Pandora. "Is there 
 something alive in the box? Well yes! I am resolved 
 to take just one peep! Only one peep; and then the 
 lid shall be shut down as safely as ever! There cannot 
 possibly be any harm in just one little peep!" 
 
 But it is now time for us to see what Epimetheus 
 was doing. 
 
 This was the first time, since his little playmate had 
 come to dwell with him, that he had attempted to enjoy 
 any pleasure in which she did not partake. But nothing 
 went right; nor was he nearly so happy as on other days. 
 He could not find a sweet grape or a ripe fig (if Epimetheus 
 had a fault, it was a little too much fondness for figs) ; or, 
 if ripe at all, they were overripe, and so sweet as to be 
 cloying. There was no mirth in his heart, such as 
 usually made his voice gush out, of its own accord, and 
 swell the merriment of his companions. In short, he 
 grew so uneasy and discontented, that the other children 
 could not imagine what was the matter with Epimetheus. 
 Neither did he himself know what ailed him, any better 
 than they did. For you must recollect that, at the time we 
 are speaking of, it was everybody's nature, and constant 
 habit, to be happy. The world had not yet learned to be
 
 2o8 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 otherwise. Not a single soul or body, since these children 
 were first sent to enjoy themselves on the beautiful earth, 
 had ever been sick or out of sorts. 
 
 At length, discovering that, somehow or other, he 
 put a stop to all the play, Epimetheus judged it best 
 to go back to Pandora, who was in a humour better 
 suited to his own. But, with a hope of giving her 
 pleasure, he gathered some flowers, and made them 
 into a wreath, which he meant to put upon her head. 
 The flowers were very lovely roses, and lilies, and 
 orange blossoms, and a great many more, which left a 
 trail of fragrance behind, as Epimetheus carried them 
 along; and the wreath was put together with as much 
 skill as could reasonably be expected of a boy. The 
 fingers of little girls, it has always appeared to me, are 
 the fittest to twine flower wreaths ; but boys could do it, 
 in those days, rather better than they can now. 
 
 And here I must mention that a great black cloud 
 had been gathering in the sky, for some time past, although 
 it had not yet overspread the sun. But, just as Epime- 
 theus reached the cottage door, this cloud began to 
 intercept the sunshine, and thus to make a sudden and 
 sad obscurity. 
 
 He entered softly, for he meant, if possible, to steal 
 behind Pandora, and fling the wreath of flowers over 
 her head, before she should be aware of his approach. 
 But, as it happened, there was no need of his treading 
 so very lightly. He might have trod as heavily as he 
 pleased as heavily as a grown man as heavily, I was 
 going to say, as an elephant without much probability 
 of Pandora's hearing his footsteps. She was too intent 
 upon her purpose. At the moment of his entering the 
 cottage, the naughty child had put her hand to the lid, and
 
 The Paradise of Children 209 
 
 was on the point of opening the mysterious box. Epime- 
 theus beheld her. If he had cried out, Pandora would 
 probably have withdrawn her hand, and the fatal mysterj 
 of the box might never have been known. 
 
 But Epimetheus himself, although he said very little 
 about it, had his own share of curiosity to know what was 
 inside. Perceiving that Pandora was resolved to find out 
 the secret, he determined that his playfellow should not be 
 the only wise person in the cottage. And if there were 
 anything pretty or valuable in the box, he meant to take 
 half of it to himself. Thus, after all his sage speeches to 
 Pandora about restraining her curiosity, Epimetheus 
 turned out to be quite as foolish, and nearly as much in 
 fault as she. So, whenever we blame Pandora for what 
 happened, we must not forget to shake our heads at 
 Epimetheus likewise. 
 
 As Pandora raised the lid, the cottage grew very dark 
 and dismal; for the black cloud had now swept quite over 
 the sun, and seemed to have buried it alive. There had 
 for a little while past been a low growling and muttering, 
 which all at once broke into a heavy peal of thunder. 
 But Pandora, heeding nothing of all this, lifted the lid 
 nearly upright, and looked inside. It seemed as if a 
 sudden swarm of winged creatures brushed past her, 
 taking flight out of the box, while, at the same instant, 
 she heard the voice of Epimetheus, with a lamentable 
 tone, as if he were in pain. 
 
 " Oh, I am stung! " cried he. "I am stung! Naughty 
 Pandora! why have you opened this wicked box?" 
 
 Pandora let fall the lid, and, starting up, looked 
 about her, to see what had befallen Epimetheus. The 
 thunder cloud had so darkened the room that she could 
 not very clearly discern what was in it. But she heard
 
 aio Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 a disagreeable buzzing, as if a great many huge flies, 
 or gigantic mosquitoes, or those insects which we call 
 dor bugs, and pinching dogs, were darting about. And, 
 as her eyes grew more accustomed to the imperfect 
 light, she saw a crowd of ugly little shapes, with bats' 
 wings, looking abominably spiteful, and armed with 
 terribly long stings in their tails. It was one of these 
 that had stung Epimetheus. Nor was it a great while 
 before Pandora herself began to scream, in no less 
 pain and affright than her playfellow, and making a 
 vast deal more hubbub about it. An odious little 
 monster had settled on her forehead, and would have 
 stung her I know not how deeply, if Epimetheus had 
 not run and brushed it away. 
 
 Now, if you wish to know what these ugly things 
 might be, which had made their escape out of the box, 
 I must tell you that they were the whole family of earthly 
 Troubles. There were evil Passions; there were a great 
 many species of Cares; there were more than a hundred 
 and fifty Sorrows; there were Diseases, in a vast number 
 of miserable and painful shapes; there were more kinds 
 of Naughtiness than it would be of any use to talk about. 
 In short, everything that has since afflicted the souls 
 and bodies of mankind had been shut up in the mysterious 
 box, and given to Epimetheus and Pandora to be kept 
 safely, in order that the happy children of the world might 
 never be molested by them. Had they been faithful 
 to their trust, all would have gone well. No grown person 
 would ever have been sad, nor any child have had cause 
 to shed a single tear, from that hour until this moment. 
 
 But and you may see by this how a wrong act of 
 any one mortal is a calamity to the whole world by 
 Pandora's lifting the lid of that miserable box, and by
 
 The Paradise of Children 211 
 
 the fault of Epimetheus, too, in not preventing her, 
 these Troubles have obtained a foothold among us, and 
 do not seem very likely to be driven away in a hurry. 
 For it was impossible, as you will easily guess, that the 
 two children should keep the ugly swarms in their own 
 little cottage. On the contrary, the first thing that they 
 did was to fling open the doors and windows, in hopes 
 of getting rid of them; and, sure enough, away flew the 
 winged Troubles all abroad, and so pestered and tor- 
 mented the small people, everywhere about, that none 
 of them so much as smiled for many days afterward. 
 And, what was very singular, all the flowers and dewy 
 blossoms on earth not one of which had hitherto faded, 
 now began to droop and shed their leaves, after a day or 
 two. The children, moreover, who before seemed 
 immortal in their childhood, now grew older, day by day, 
 and came soon to be youths and maidens, and men and 
 women by and by, and aged people, before they dreamed 
 of such a thing. 
 
 Meanwhile, the naughty Pandora, and hardly less 
 naughty Epimetheus, remained in their cottage. Both 
 of them had been grievously stung, and were in a good 
 deal of pain, which seemed the more intolerable to 
 them, because it was the very first pain that had ever 
 been felt since the world began. Of course, they were 
 entirely unaccustomed to it, and could have no idea 
 what it meant. Besides all this, they were in exceedingly 
 bad humour, both with themselves and with one another. 
 In order to indulge it to the utmost, Epimetheus sat down 
 sullenly in a corner with his back toward Pandora; while 
 Pandora flung herself upon the floor and rested her head 
 on the fatal and abominable box. She was crying 
 bitterly, and sobbing as if her heart would break.
 
 212 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Suddenly there was a gentle little tap on the inside of 
 the lid. 
 
 "What can that be?" cried Pandora, lifting her head. 
 
 But either Epimetheus had not heard the tap, or 
 was too much out of humour to notice it. At any rate, 
 he made no answer. 
 
 "You are very unkind," said Pandora, sobbing 
 anew, "not to speak to me!" 
 
 Again the tap! It sounded like the tiny knuckles 
 of a fairy's hand, knocking lightly and playfully on the 
 inside of the box. 
 
 "Who are you?" asked Pandora, with a little of her 
 former curiosity. "Who are you, inside of this naughty 
 box?" 
 
 A sweet little voice spoke from within 
 
 " Only lift the lid, and you shall see." 
 
 "No, no," answered Pandora, again beginning to 
 sob, "I have had enough of lifting the lid! You are 
 inside of the box, naughty creature, and there you shall 
 stay! There are plenty of your ugly brothers and 
 sisters already flying about the world. You need never 
 think that I shall be so foolish as to let you outl " 
 
 She looked toward Epimetheus, as she spoke, perhaps 
 expecting that he would commend her for her wisdom. 
 But the sullen boy only muttered that she was wise a 
 little too late. 
 
 "Ah," said the sweet little voice again, "you had 
 much better let me out. I am not like those naughty 
 creatures that have stings in their tails. They are no 
 brothers and sisters of mine, as you would see at once, 
 if you were only to get a glimpse of me. Come, come, 
 my pretty Pandora! I am sure you will let me out!" 
 
 And, indeed, there was a kind of cheerful witchery
 
 The Paradise of Children 213 
 
 in the tone, that made it almost impossible to refuse 
 anything which this little voice asked. Pandora's heart 
 had insensibly grown lighter, at every word that came 
 from within the box. Epimetheus, too, though still 
 in the corner, had turned half round, and seemed to be 
 in rather better spirits than before. 
 
 "My dear Epimetheus," cried Pandora, "have you 
 heard this little voice?" 
 
 "Yes, to be sure I have," answered he, but in no very 
 good humour as yet. "And what of it?" 
 
 "Shall I lift the lid again?" asked Pandora. 
 
 "Just as you please," said Epimetheus. "You have 
 done so much mischief already, that perhaps you may 
 as well do a little more. One other Trouble, in such 
 a swarm as you have set adrift about the world, can make 
 no very great difference." 
 
 "You might speak a little more kindly!" murmured 
 Pandora, wiping her eyes. 
 
 "Ah, naughty boyl" cried the little voice within 
 the box, in an arch and laughing tone. "He knows 
 he is longing to see me. Come, my dear Pandora, 
 lift up the lid. I am in a great hurry to comfort you. 
 Only let me have some fresh air, and you shall soon 
 see that matters are not quite so dismal as you think 
 them!" 
 
 "Epimetheus," exclaimed Pandora, "come what 
 may, I am resolved to open the box!" 
 
 "And, as the lid seems very heavy," cried Epimetheus, 
 running across the room, "I will help you I" 
 
 So, with one consent, the two children again lifted the 
 lid. Out flew a sunny and smiling little personage, and 
 hovered about the room, throwing a light wherever she 
 went. Have you never made the sunshine dance into
 
 214 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 dark corners, by reflecting it from a bit of looking 
 glass? Well, so looked the winged cheerfulness of this 
 fairy -like stranger, amid the gloom of the cottage. She 
 flew to Epimetheus, and laid the least touch of her 
 finger on the inflamed spot where the Trouble had stung 
 him, and immediately the anguish of it was gone. Then 
 she kissed Pandora on the forehead, and her hurt was 
 cured likewise. 
 
 After performing these good offices, the bright stranger 
 fluttered sportively over the children's heads, and 
 looked so sweetly at them, that they both began to think 
 it not so very much amiss to have opened the box, since, 
 otherwise, their cheery guest must have been kept a 
 prisoner among those naughty imps with stings in their 
 tails. 
 
 "Pray, who are you, beautiful creature?" inquired 
 Pandora. 
 
 "I am to be called Hope!" answered the sunshiny 
 figure. "And because I am such a cheery little body, 
 I was packed into the box, to make amends to the 
 human race for that swarm of ugly Troubles, which was 
 destined to be let loose among them. Never fear! we 
 shall do pretty well in spite of them all." 
 
 "Your wings are coloured like the rainbow!" ex- 
 claimed Pandora. "How very beautiful!" 
 
 "Yes, they are like the rainbow," said Hope, "because, 
 glad as my nature is, I am partly made of tears as well as 
 smiles." 
 
 "And will you stay with us," asked Epimetheus, 
 "forever and ever?" 
 
 "As long as you need me," said Hope, with her pleasant 
 smile "and that will be as long as you live in the world 
 I promise never to desert you. There may come times
 
 The Paradise of Children 215 
 
 and seasons, now and then, when you will think that I 
 have utterly vanished. But again, and again, and again, 
 when perhaps you least dream of it, you shall see the 
 glimmer of my wings on the ceiling of your cottage. 
 Yes, my dear children, and I know something very good 
 and beautiful that is to be given you hereafter 1" 
 
 "Oh tell us," they exclaimed " tell us what it is!" 
 
 "Do not ask me," replied Hope, putting her finger 
 on her rosy mouth. "But do not despair, even if it 
 should never happen while you live on this earth. Trust 
 in my promise, for it is true." 
 
 "We do trust you!" cried Epimetheus and Pandora, 
 both in one breath. 
 
 And so they did; and not only they, but so has every- 
 body trusted Hope, that has since been alive. And 
 to tell you the truth, I cannot help being glad (though, 
 to be sure, it was an uncommonly naugaty thing for her 
 to do) but I cannot help being glad that our foolish 
 Pandora peeped into the box. No doubt no doubt the 
 Troubles are still flying about the world, and have in- 
 creased in multitude, rather than lessened, and are a 
 very ugly set of imps, and carry most venomous stings 
 in their tails. I have felt them already, and expect to 
 feel them more, as I grow older. But then that lovely 
 and lightsome little figure of Hope! What in the world 
 could we do without her? Hope spiritualises the earth; 
 Hope makes it always new; and, even in the earth's best 
 and brightest aspect, Hope shows it to be only the shadow 
 of an infinite bliss hereafter 1
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE CYCLOPS 
 
 WHEN the great city of Troy was taken, all the chiefs 
 who had fought against it set sail for their homes, But 
 there was wrath in heaven against them, for indeed they 
 had borne themselves haughtily and cruelly in the day 
 of their victory. Therefore they did not all find a safe and 
 happy return. For one was shipwrecked, and another 
 was shamefully slain by his false wife in his palace, and 
 others found all things at home troubled and changed, 
 and were driven to seek new dwellings elsewhere. And 
 some, whose wives and friends and people had been still 
 true to them through those ten long years of absence, 
 were driven far and wide about the world before they 
 saw their native land again. And of all, the wise Ulysses 
 was he who wandered farthest and suffered most. 
 
 He was well-nigh the last to sail, for he had tarried 
 many days to do pleasure to Agamemnon, lord of all 
 the Greeks. Twelve ships he had with him twelve 
 he had brought to Troy and in each there were some 
 fifty men, being scarce half of those that had sailed in 
 them in the old days, so many valiant heroes slept the 
 last sleep by Simois and Scamander, and in the plain and 
 on the seashore, slain in battle or by the shafts of Apollo. 
 
 First they sailed northwest to the Thracian coast, 
 where the Ciconians dwelt, who had helped the men of 
 Troy. Their city they took, and in it much plunder, 
 
 216
 
 The Cyclops 217 
 
 slaves and oxen, and jars of fragrant wine, and might 
 have escaped unhurt, but that they stayed to hold revel 
 on the shore. For the Ciconians gathered their neigh- 
 bours, being men of the same blood, and did battle with 
 the invaders, and drove them to their ship. And when 
 Ulysses numbered his men, he found that he had lost six 
 out of each ship. 
 
 Scarce had he set out again when the wind began to 
 blow fiercely; so, seeing a smooth sandy beach, they 
 drave the ships ashore and dragged them out of reach of 
 the waves, and waited till the storm should abate. And 
 the third morning being fair, they sailed again, and 
 journeyed prosperously till they came to the very end 
 of the great Peloponnesian land, where Cape Malea looks 
 out upon the southern sea. But contrary currents 
 baffled them, so that they could not round it, and the 
 north wind blew so strongly that they must fain drive 
 before it. And on the tenth day they came to the land 
 where the lotus grows a wondrous fruit, of which 
 whosoever eats cares not to see country or wife or children 
 again. Now the Lotus eaters, for so they call the people 
 of the land, were a kindly folk, and gave of the fruit to 
 some of the sailors, not meaning them any harm, but 
 thinking it to be the best that they had to give. These, 
 when they had eaten, said that they would not sail any 
 more over the sea; which, when the wise Ulysses heard, he 
 bade their comrades bind them and carry them, sadly 
 complaining, to the ships. 
 
 Then, the wind having abated, they took to their 
 oars, and rowed for many days till they came to the coun- 
 try where the Cyclopes dwell. Now, a mile or so from 
 the shore there was an island, very fair and fertile, but 
 no man dwells there or tills the soil, and in the island a
 
 ai8 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 harbour where a ship may be safe from all winds, and at 
 the head of the harbour a stream falling from the rock, 
 and whispering alders all about it. Into this the ships 
 passed safely, and were hauled up on the beach, and the 
 crews slept by them, waiting for the morning. And the 
 next day they hunted the wild goats, of which there 
 was great store on the island, and feasted right merrily 
 on what they caught, with draughts of red wine which 
 they had carried off from the town of the Ciconians. 
 
 But on the morrow, Ulysses, for he was ever fond of 
 adventure, and would know of every land to which he 
 came what manner of men they were that dwelt there, 
 took one of his twelve ships and bade row to the land. 
 There was a great hill sloping to the shore, and there 
 rose up here and there a smoke from the caves where the 
 Cyclopes dwelt apart, holding no converse with each 
 other, for they were a rude and savage folk, but ruled each 
 his own household, not caring for others. Now very 
 close to the shore was one of these caves, very huge and 
 deep, with laurels round about the mouth, and in front 
 a fold with walls built of rough stone, and shaded by tall 
 oaks and pines. So Ulysses chose out of the crew the 
 twelve bravest, and bade the rest guard the ship, and 
 went to see what manner of dwelling this was, and who 
 abode there. He had his sword by his side, and on his 
 shoulder a mighty skin of wine, sweet smelling and 
 strong, with which he might win the heart of some fierce 
 savage, should he chance to meet with such, as indeed his 
 prudent heart forecasted that he might. 
 
 So they entered the cave, and judged that it was the 
 dwelling of some rich and skilful shepherd. For within 
 there were pens for the young of the sheep and of the 
 goats, divided all according to their age, and there were
 
 The Cyclops 219 
 
 baskets full of cheeses, and full milkpails ranged along the 
 wall. But the Cyclops himself was away in the pastures. 
 Then the companions of Ulysses besought him that he 
 would depart, taking with .iim, if he would, a store of 
 cheeses and sundry of the lambs and of the kids. But 
 he would not, for he wished to see, after his wont, what 
 manner of host this strange shepherd might be. And 
 truly he saw it to his cost! 
 
 It was evening when the Cyclops came home, a 
 mighty giant, twenty feet in height, or more. On his 
 shoulder he bore a vast bundle of pine logs for his fire, 
 and threw them down outside the cave with a great crash, 
 and drove the flocks within, and closed the entrance 
 with a huge rock, which twenty wagons and more could 
 not bear. Then he milked the ewes and all the she 
 goats, and half of the milk he curdled for cheese, and 
 half he set ready for himself, when he should sup. Next 
 he kindled a fire with the pine logs, and the flame lighted 
 up all the cave, showing him Ulysses and his comrades. 
 
 "Who are ye?" cried Polyphemus, for that was the 
 giant's name. "Are ye traders, or, haply, pirates?" 
 
 For in those days it was not counted shame to be 
 called a pirate. 
 
 Ulysses shuddered at the dreadful voice and shape, 
 but bore him bravely, and answered, "We are no pirates, 
 mighty sir, but Greeks, sailing back from Troy, and 
 subjects of the great King Agamemnon, whose fame is 
 spread from one end of heaven to the other. And we are 
 come to beg hospitality of thee in the name of Zeus, who 
 rewards or punishes hosts and guests according as they 
 be faithful the one to the other, or no." 
 
 "Nay," said the giant, "it is but idle talk to tell me of 
 Zeus and the other gods. We Cyclopes take no account
 
 s 20 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 of gods, holding ourselves to be much better and stronger 
 than they. But come, tell me where have you left your 
 ship?" 
 
 But Ulysses saw his thought when he asked about the 
 ship, how he was minded to break it, and take from them 
 all hope of flight. Therefore he answered him craftily: 
 
 "Ship have we none, for that which was ours King 
 Poseidon brake, driving it on a jutting rock on this coast, 
 and we whom thou seest are all that are escaped from the 
 waves." 
 
 Polyphemus answered nothing, but without more ado 
 caught up two of the men, as a man might catch up the 
 whelps of a dog, and dashed them on the ground, and tore 
 them limb from limb, and devoured them, with huge 
 draughts of milk between, leaving not a morsel, not even 
 the very bones. But the others, when they saw the dread- 
 ful deed, could only weep and pray to Zeus for help. 
 And when the giant had ended his foul meal, he lay down 
 among his sheep and slept. 
 
 Then Ulysses questioned much in his heart whether 
 he should slay the monster as he slept, for he doubted not 
 that his good sword would pierce to the giant's heart, 
 mighty as he was. But, being very wise, he remembered 
 that, should he slay him, he and his comrades would yet 
 perish miserably. For who should move away the great 
 rock that lay against ihe door of the cave? So they 
 waited till the morning. And the monster woke, and 
 milked his flocks, and afterward, seizing two men, de- 
 voured them for his meal. Then he went to the pastures, 
 but put the great rock on the mouth of the cave, just as a 
 man puts down the lid upon his quiver. 
 
 All that day the wise Ulysses was thinking what he 
 might best do to save himself and his companions; and
 
 The Cyclops 821 
 
 the end of his thinking was this: There was a mighty 
 pole in the cave, green wood of an olive tree, big as a 
 ship's mast, which Polyphemus purposed to use, when 
 the smoke should have dried it, as a walking staff. Of 
 this he cut off a fathom's length, and his comrades 
 sharpened it and hardened it in the fire, and then hid it 
 away. At evening the giant came back, and drove his 
 sheep into the cave, nor left the rams outside, as he had 
 been wont to do before, but shut them in. And having 
 duly done his shepherd's work, he made his cruel feast as 
 before. Then Ulysses came forward with the wine skin 
 in his hand, and said: 
 
 "Drink, Cyclops, now that thou hast feasted. Drink, 
 and see what precious things we had in our ship. But 
 no one hereafter will come to thee with such like, if thou 
 dealest with strangers as cruelly as thou hast dealt with 
 us." 
 
 Then the Cyclops drank, and was mightily pleased, 
 and said, " Give me again to drink, and tell me thy name, 
 stranger, and I will give thee a gift such as a host should 
 give. In good truth this is a rare liquor. We, too, have 
 vines, but they bear not wine like this, which indeed 
 must be such as the gods drink in heaven." 
 
 Then Ulysses gave him the cup again, and he drank. 
 Thrice he gave it to him, and thrice he drank, not knowing 
 what it was, and how it would work within his brain. 
 
 Then Ulysses spake to him. "Thou didst ask my 
 name, Cyclops. Lo! my name is No Man. And now 
 that thou knowest my name, thou shouldst give me thy 
 gift." 
 
 And he said, "My gift shall be that I will eat thee last 
 of all thy company." 
 
 And as he spake he fell back in a drunken sleep. Then
 
 222 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Ulysses bade his comrades be of good courage, for the 
 time was come when they should be delivered. And they 
 thrust the stake of olive wood into the fire till it was 
 ready, green as it was, to burst into flame, and they 
 thrust it into the monster's eye; for he had but one eye, 
 and that in the midst of his forehead, with the eyebrow 
 below it. And Ulysses leant with all his force upon the 
 stake, and thrust it in with might and main. And the 
 burning wood hissed in the eye, just as the red-hot iron 
 hisses in the water when a man seeks to temper steel for 
 a sword. 
 
 Then the giant leapt up, and tore away the stake, and 
 cried aloud, so that all the Cyclopes who dwelt on the 
 mountain side heard him and came about his cave, 
 asking him, "What aileth thee, Polyphemus, that thou 
 makest this uproar in the peaceful night, driving away 
 sleep ? Is any one robbing thee of thy sheep, or seeking 
 to slay thee by craft or force?" 
 
 And the giant answered, "No Man slays me by craft." 
 
 "Nay, but," they said, "if no man does thee wrong, 
 we cannot help thee. The sickness which great Zeus may 
 send, who can avoid ? Pray to our father, Poseidon, for 
 help." 
 
 Then they departed; and Ulysses was glad at heart for 
 the good success of his device, when he said that he was 
 No Man. 
 
 But the Cyclops rolled away the great stone from the 
 door of the cave, and sat in the midst stretching out his 
 hands, to feel whether perchance the men within the cave 
 would seek to go out among the sheep. 
 
 Long did Ulysses think how he and his comrades should 
 best escape. At last he lighted upon a good device, and 
 much he thanked Zeus for that this once the giant had
 
 The Cyclops 223 
 
 driven the rams with the other sheep into the cave. For, 
 these being great and strong, he fastened his comrades 
 under the bellies of the beasts, tying them with osier 
 twigs, of which the giant made his bed. One ram he 
 took, and fastened a man beneath it, and two others he 
 set, one on either side. So he did with the six, for but 
 six were left out of the twelve who had ventured with him 
 from the ship. And there was one mighty ram, far 
 larger than all the others, and to this Ulysses clung, 
 grasping the fleece tight with both his hands. So they 
 waited for the morning. And when the morning camt^ 
 the rams rushed forth to the pasture; but the giant sat in 
 the door and felt the back of each as it went by, nor 
 thought to try what might be underneath. Last of all 
 went the great ram. And the Cyclops knew him as he 
 passed and said: 
 
 "How is this, thou, who art the leader of the flock? 
 Thou art nc t wont thus to lag behind. Thou hast always 
 been the first to run to the pastures and streams in the 
 morning, and the first to come back to the fold when even- 
 ing fell; and now thou art last of all. Perhaps thou art 
 troubled about thy master's eye, which some wretch 
 No Man, they call him has destroyed, having first mas- 
 tered me with wine. He has not escaped, I ween. I 
 would that thou couldst speak, and tell me where he is 
 lurking. Of a truth I would dash out his brains upon the 
 ground, and avenge me of this No Man." 
 
 So speaking, he let him pass out of the cave. But when 
 they were out of reach of the giant, Ulysses loosed his hold 
 of the ram, and then unbound his comrades. And they 
 hastened to their ship, not forgetting to drive before them 
 a good store of the Cyclops' fat sheep. Right glad were 
 those that had abode by the ship to see them. Nor did
 
 224 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 they lament for those that had died, though they were fain 
 to do so, for Ulysses forbade, fearing lest the noise of their 
 weeping should betray them to the giant, where they were. 
 Then they all climbed into the ship, and sitting' well in 
 order on the benches, smote the sea with their oars, 
 laying-to right lustily, that they might the sooner get away 
 from the accursed land. And when they had rowed a 
 hundred yards or so, so that a man's voice could yet be 
 heard by one who stood upon the shore, Ulysses stood up 
 in the ship and shouted: 
 
 "He was no coward, O Cyclops, whose comrades thou 
 didst so foully slay in thy den. Justly art thou punished, 
 monster, that devourest thy guests in thy dwelling. May 
 the gods make thee suffer yet worse things than these!" 
 
 Then the Cylops, in his wrath, broke off the top of a 
 great hill, a mighty rock, and hurled it where he had 
 heard the voice. Right in front of the ship's bow it fell, 
 and a great wave rose as it sank, and washed the ship 
 back to the shore. But Ulysses seized a long pole with 
 both hands and pushed the ship from the land, and bade 
 his comrades ply then* oars, nodding with his head, for 
 he was too wise to speak, lest the Cyclops should know 
 where they were. Then they rowed with all their might 
 and main. 
 
 And when they had gotten twice as far as before, 
 Ulysses made as if he would speak again; but his com- 
 rades sought to hinder him, saying, "Nay, my lord, anger 
 not the giant any more. Surely we thought before we 
 were lost, when he threw the great rock, and washed our 
 ship back to the shore. And if he hear thee now, he may 
 crush our ship and us, for the man throws a mighty bolt, 
 and throws it far." 
 
 But Ulysses would not be persuaded, but stood up and
 
 The Cyclops 225 
 
 said, "Hear, Cyclops! If any man ask who blinded thee, 
 say that it was the warrior Ulysses, son of Laertes, dwell- 
 ing in Ithaca." 
 
 And the Cyclops answered with a groan, " Of a truth, 
 the old oracles are fulfilled, for long ago there came to this 
 land one Telemus, a prophet, and dwelt among us even 
 to old age. This man foretold me that one Ulysses would 
 rob me of my sight. But I looked for a great man and a 
 strong, who should subdue me by force, and now a weak- 
 ling has done the deed, having cheated me with wine. 
 But come thou hither, Ulysses, and I will be a host indeed 
 to thee. Or, at least, may Poseidon give thee such a 
 voyage to thy home as I would wish thee to have. For 
 know that Poseidon is my sire. May be that he may heal 
 me of my grievous wound." 
 
 And Ulysses said, "Would to God, I could send thee 
 down to the abode of the dead, where thou wouldst be past 
 all healing, even from Poseidon's self." 
 
 Then Cyclops lifted up his hands to Poseidon and 
 prayed: 
 
 "Hear me, Poseidon, if I am indeed thy son and thou 
 my father. May this Ulysses never reach his home! or, 
 if the Fates have ordered that he should reach it, may he 
 come alone, all his comrades lost, and come to find sore 
 trouble in his house!" 
 
 And as he ended he hurled another mighty rock, which 
 almost lighted on the rudder's end, yet missed it as if by a 
 hair's breadth. So Ulysses and his comrades escaped, 
 and came to the island of the wild goats, where they found 
 their comrades, who indeed had waited long for them, in 
 sore fear lest they had perished. Then Ulysses divided 
 among his company all the sheep which they had taken 
 from the Cyclops. And all, with one consent, gave him
 
 226 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 for his share the great ram which had carried him out of 
 the cave, and he sacrificed it to Zeus. And all that day 
 they feasted right merrily on the flesh of sheep and on 
 sweet wine, and when the night was come, they lay down 
 upon the shore and slept
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE ARGONAUTS 
 
 How the Centaur Trained the Heroes on Pelion 
 
 I HAVE told you of a hero who fought with wild beasts 
 and with wild men; but now I have a tale of heroes who 
 sailed away into a distant land to win themselves renown 
 forever, in the adventure of the Golden Fleece. 
 
 Whither they sailed, my children, I cannot clearly tell. 
 It all happened long ago; so long that it has all grown 
 dim, like a dream which you dreamed last year. And why 
 they went, I cannot tell; some say that it was to win gold. 
 It may be so; but the noblest deeds which have been done 
 on earth, have not been done for gold. It was not for the 
 sake of gold that the Lord came down and died, and the 
 Apostles went out to preach the good news in all lands. 
 The Spartans looked for no reward in money when they 
 fought and died at Thermopylae; and Socrates the wise 
 asked no pay from his countrymen, but lived poor and 
 barefoot all his days, only caring to make men good. And 
 there are heroes in our days also, who do noble deeds, but 
 not for gold. Our discoverers did not go to make them- 
 selves rich, when they sailed out one after another into the 
 dreary frozen seas; nor did the ladies, who went out last 
 327
 
 228 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 year, to drudge in the hospitals of the East, making them- 
 selves poor, that they might be rich in noble works. And 
 young men, too, whom you know, children, and some of 
 them of your own kin, did they say to themselves, "How 
 much money shall I earn?" when they went out to the 
 war, leaving wealth, and comfort, and a pleasant home, 
 and all that money can give, to face hunger and thirst, and 
 wounds and death, that they might fight for their country 
 and their Queen? No, children, there is a better thing 
 on earth than wealth, a better thing than life itself; and 
 that is, to have done something before you die, for which 
 good men may honour you, and God your Father smile 
 upon your work. 
 
 Therefore we will believe why should we not of 
 these same Argonauts of old, that they, too, were noble 
 men, who planned and did a noble deed; and that there- 
 fore their fame has lived, and been told in story and in 
 song, mixed up, no doubt, with dreams and fables, yet 
 true and right at heart. So we will honour these old 
 Argonauts, and listen to their story as it stands; and we 
 will try to be like them, each of us in our place; for 
 each of us has a Golden Fleece to seek, and a wild sea to 
 sail over, ere we reach it, and dragons to fight ere it be 
 ours. 
 
 And what was that first Golden Fleece? I do not 
 know, nor care. The old Hellenes said that it hung in 
 Colchis, which we call the Circassian coast, nailed to a 
 beech tree in the war-god's wood; and that it was the fleece 
 of the wondrous ram, who bore Phrixus and Helle across 
 the Euxine Sea. For Phrixus and Helle were the children 
 of the cloud nymph, and of Athamas the Minuan king. 
 And when a famine came upon the land, their cruel step- 
 mother, Ino, wished to kill them, that her own children
 
 The Argonauts 229 
 
 might reign, and said that they must be sacrificed on an 
 altar, to turn away the anger of the gods. So the poor 
 children were brought to the altar, and the priest stood 
 ready with his knife, when out of the clouds came the 
 Golden Ram, and took them on his back, and vanished. 
 Then madness came upon that foolish king Athamas, and 
 ruin upon Ino and her children. For Athamas killed one 
 of them in his fury, and Ino fled from him with the other 
 in her arms, and leaped from a cliff into the sea, and was 
 changed into a dolphin, such as you have seen, which 
 wanders over the waves forever sighing, with its little one 
 clasped to its breast. 
 
 But the people drove out King Athamas, because he 
 had killed his child; and he roamed about in his misery, 
 till he came to the Oracle in Delphi. And the Oracle 
 told him that he must wander for his sin, till the wild 
 beasts should feast him as their guest. So he went on in 
 hunger and sorrow for many a weary day, till he saw a 
 pack of wolves. The wolves were tearing a sheep; but 
 when they saw Athamas they fled, and left the sheep for 
 him, and he ate of it; and then he knew that the oracle 
 was fulfilled at last. So he wandered no more; but 
 settled, and built a town, and became a king again. 
 
 But the ram carried the two children far away over 
 land and sea, till he came to the Thracian Chersonese, 
 and there Helle fell into the sea. So those narrow straits 
 are called " Hellespont," after her; and they bear that 
 name until this day. 
 
 Then the ram flew on with Phrixus to the northeast 
 across the sea which we call the Black Sea now; but the 
 Hellenes called it Euxine. And at last, they say, he 
 Stopped at Colchis, on the steep Circassian coast; and 
 there Phrixus married Chalchiope, the daughter of Aietes
 
 230 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 the king; and offered the ram in sacrifice; and Aietes 
 nailed the ram's fleece to a beech, in the grove of Ares the 
 war god. 
 
 And after awhile Phrixus died, and was buried, but his 
 spirit had no rest; for he was buried far from his native 
 land, and the pleasant hills of Hellas. So he came in 
 dreams to the heroes of the Minuai, and called sadly by 
 their beds: "Come and set my spirit free, that I may go 
 home to my fathers and to my kinsfolk, and the pleasant 
 Minuan land." 
 
 And they asked: "How shall we set your spirit free?" 
 
 "You must sail over the sea to Colchis, and bring home 
 the golden fleece; and then my spirit will come back with 
 it, and I shall sleep with my fathers and have rest." 
 
 He came thus, and called to them often, but when they 
 woke they looked at each other, and said: "Who dare 
 sail to Colchis, or bring home the golden fleece?" And 
 in all the country none was brave enough to try it; for 
 the man and the time were not come. 
 
 Phrixus had a cousin called ^Eson, who was king in 
 lolcos by the sea. There he ruled over the rich Minuan 
 heroes, as Athamas his uncle ruled in Bceotia; and like 
 Athamas, he was an unhappy man. For he had a step- 
 brother named Pelias, of whom some said that he was a 
 nymph's son, and there were dark and sad tales about his 
 birth. When he was a babe he was cast out on the 
 mountains, and a wild mare came by and kicked him. 
 But a shepherd passing found the baby, with its face all 
 blackened by the blow; and took him home, and called 
 him Pelias, because his face was bruised and black. And 
 he grew up fierce and lawless, and did many a fearful 
 deed; and at last he drove out ^Eson his stepbrother, 
 and then his own brother Neleus, and took the kingdom
 
 The Argonauts 231 
 
 to himself, and ruled over the rich Minuan heroes, in 
 lolcos by the sea. 
 
 And ^Eson, when he was driven out, went sadly away 
 out of the town, leading his little son by the hand ; and he 
 said to himself, "I must hide the child in the mountains; 
 or Pelias will surely kill him, because he is the heir." 
 
 So he went up from the sea across the valley, through 
 the vineyards and the olive groves, and across the torrent 
 of Anauros, toward Pelion the ancient mountain, whose 
 brows are white with snow. 
 
 He went up and up into the mountain over marsh, 
 and crag, and down, till the boy was tired and footsore, 
 and ^Eson had to bear him in his arms, till he came to the 
 mouth of a lonely cave, at the foot of a mighty cliff. 
 
 Above the cliff the snow wreaths hung, dripping and 
 cracking in the sun. But at its foot afound the cave's 
 mouth grew all fair flowers and herbs, as if in a garden, 
 ranged in order, each sort by itself. There they grew 
 gayly in the sunshine, and the spray of the torrent from 
 above ; while from the cave came the sound of music, and 
 a man's voice singing to the harp. 
 
 Then .flSson put down the lad, and whispered: 
 
 "Fear not, but go in, and whomsoever you shall find, 
 lay your hands upon his knees, and say, 'In the name of 
 Zeus the father of gods and men, I am your guest from 
 this day forth.'" 
 
 Then the lad went in without trembling, for he, too, 
 was a hero's son; but when he was within, he stopped in 
 wonder, to listen to that magic song. 
 
 And there he saw the singer lying upon bear skins and 
 fragrant boughs; Cheiron, the ancient centaur, the wisest 
 of all things beneath the sky. Down to the waist he was 
 a man; but below he was a noble horse; his white hair
 
 232 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 rolled down over his broad shoulders, and his white 
 beard over his broad brown chest; and his eyes were 
 wise and mild, and his forehead like a mountain wall. 
 
 And in his hands he held a harp of gold, and struck 
 it with a golden key; and as he struck, he sang till his 
 eyes glittered, and filled all the cave with light. 
 
 And he sang of the birth of Time, and of the heavens 
 and the dancing stars; and of the ocean, and the ether, 
 and the fire, and the shaping of the wondrous earth. 
 And he sang of the treasures of the hills, and the hidden 
 jewels of the mine, and the veins of fire and metal, and 
 the virtues of all healing herbs, and of the speech of birds, 
 and of prophecy, and of hidden things to come. 
 
 Then he sang of health, and strength, and manhood, 
 and a valiant heart; and of music, and hunting, and 
 wrestling, and all the games which heroes love; and of 
 travel, and wars, and sieges, and a noble death in fight; 
 and then he sang of peace and plenty, and of equal 
 justice in the land ; and as he sang, the boy listened wide 
 eyed, and forgot his errand in the song. 
 
 And at the last old Cheiron was silent, and called the 
 lad with a soft voice. 
 
 And the lad ran trembling to him, and would have 
 laid his hands upon his knees; but Cheiron smiled, and 
 said, "Call hither your father ^Eson, for I know you, and 
 all that has befallen, and saw you both afar in the valley, 
 even before you left the town." 
 
 Then JEson came in sadly, and Cheiron asked him, 
 "Why came you not yourself to me, ^Eson the ^Eolid?" 
 
 And ^Eson said: 
 
 "I thought, Cheiron will pity the lad if he sees him 
 come alone ; and I wished to try whether he was fearless, 
 and dare venture like a hero's son. But now I entreat
 
 The Argonauts 233 
 
 you by Father Zeus, let the boy be your guest till better 
 times, and train him among the sons of the heroes, that 
 he may avenge his father's house.'* 
 
 Then Cheiron smiled, and drew the lad to him, and 
 laid his hand upon his golden locks, and said, "Are you 
 afraid of my horse's hoofs, fair boy, or will you be my 
 pupil from this day?" 
 
 "I would gladly have horse's hoofs like you, if I could 
 sing such songs as yours." 
 
 And Cheiron laughed, and said, "Sit here by me till 
 sundown, when your playfellows will come home, and 
 you shall learn like them to be a king, worthy to rule over 
 gallant men." 
 
 Then he turned to ^Eson, and said, "Go back in peace, 
 and bend before the storm like a prudent man. This 
 boy shall not cross the Anauros again, till he has become 
 a glory to you and to the house of ^Eolus." 
 
 And ^Eson wept over his son and went away; but the 
 boy did not weep, so full was his fancy of that strange 
 cave, and the Centaur, and his song, and the playfellows 
 whom he was to see. 
 
 Then Cheiron put the lyre into his hands, and taught 
 him how to play it, till the sun sank low behind the 
 cliff, and a shout was heard outside. 
 
 And then in came the sons of the heroes, ^neas, and 
 Heracles, and Peleus, and many another mighty name. 
 
 And great Cheiron leapt up joyfully, and his hoofs 
 made the cave resound, as they shouted, "Come out, 
 Father Cheiron; come out and see our game." And one 
 cried, "I have killed two deer," and another, "I took a 
 wildcat among the crags"; and Heracles dragged a wild 
 goat after him by its horns, for he was as huge as a 
 mountain crag; and Caeneus carried a bear cub under
 
 234 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 each arm, and laughed when they scratched and bit; foi 
 neither tooth nor steel could wound him. 
 
 And Cheiron praised them all, each according to his 
 deserts. 
 
 Only one walked apart and silent, Asclepius, the too- 
 wise child, with his bosom full of herbs and flowers, and 
 round his wrist a spotted snake ; he came with downcast 
 eyes to Cheiron, and whispered how he had watched the 
 snake cast his old skin, and grow young again before his 
 eyes, and how he had gone down into a village in the 
 vale, and cured a dying man with a herb which he had 
 seen a sick goat eat. 
 
 And Cheiron smiled, and said: "To each Athene* and 
 Apollo give some gift, and each is worthy in his place; but 
 to this child they have given an honour beyond all 
 honours, to cure while others kill." 
 
 Then the lads brought in wood, and split it, and 
 lighted a blazing fire; and others skinned the deer and 
 quartered them, and set them to roast before the fire; 
 and while the venison was cooking they bathed in the 
 snow torrent, and washed away the dust and sweat. 
 
 And then all ate till they could eat no more (for they 
 had tasted nothing since the dawn), and drank of the 
 clear spring water, for wine is not fit for growing lads. 
 And when the remnants were put away, they all lay 
 down upon the skins and leaves about the fire, and each 
 took the lyre in turn, and sang and played with all his 
 heart. 
 
 And after a while they all went out to a plot of grass 
 at the cave's mouth, and there they boxed, and ran, and 
 wrestled, and laughed till the stones fell from the cliffs. 
 
 Then Cheiron took his lyre, and all the lads joined 
 hands: and as he played, they danced to his measure, in
 
 The Argonauts 235 
 
 and out, and round and round. There they danced hand 
 in hand, till the night fell over land and sea, while the 
 black glen shone with their broad white limbs, and the 
 gleam of their golden hair. 
 
 And the lad danced with them, delighted, and then 
 slept a wholesome sleep, upon fragrant leaves of bay, and 
 myrtle, and marjoram, and flowers of thyme; and rose 
 at the dawn, and bathed in the torrent, and became a 
 schoolfellow to the heroes' sons, and forgot lolcos, and his 
 father, and all his former life. But he grew strong, and 
 brave and cunning, upon the pleasant downs of Pelion, 
 in the keen hungry mountain air. And he learnt to 
 wrestle, and to box, and to hunt, and to play upon the 
 harp; and next he learnt to ride, for old Cheiron used 
 to mount him on his back ; and he learnt the virtues of all 
 herbs, and how to cure all wounds; and Cheiron called 
 him Jason the healer, and that is his name until this day. 
 
 PART II 
 
 How Jason Lost His Sandal in Anauros 
 
 AND ten years came and went, and Jason was grown 
 to be a mighty man. Some of his fellows were gone, and 
 some were growing up by his side. Asclepius was gone 
 into Peloponnese, to work his wondrous cures on men; 
 and some say he used to raise the dead to life. And 
 Heracles was gone to Thebes, to fulfil those famous 
 labours which have become a proverb among men. 
 And Peleus had married a sea nymph, and his wedding 
 is famous to this day. And ^Eneas was gone home to 
 Troy, and many a noble tale you will read of him, and
 
 236 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 of all the other gallant heroes, the scholars of Cheiron 
 the just. And it happened on a day that Jason stood on 
 the mountain, and looked north and south and east and 
 west; and Cheiron stood by him and watched him, for 
 he knew that the time was come. 
 
 And Jason looked and saw the plains of Thessaly, 
 where the Lapithai breed their horses; and the lake of 
 Boibe", and the stream which runs northward to Peneus 
 and Tempe; and he looked north, and saw the mountain 
 wall which guards the Magnesian shore; Olympus, the 
 seat of the Immortals, and Ossa, and Pelion, where he 
 stood. Then he looked east and saw the bright blue 
 sea, which stretched away forever toward the dawn. 
 Then he looked south, and saw a pleasant land, with 
 white-walled towns and farms, nestling along the shore 
 of a land-locked bay, while the smoke rose blue among 
 the trees; and he knew it for the bay of Pagasai, and the 
 rich lowlands of Haemonia, and lolcos by the sea. 
 
 Then he sighed, and asked: "Is it true what the 
 heroes tell me, that I am heir of that fan" land ?" 
 
 "And what good would it be to you, Jason, if you were 
 heir of that fair land?" 
 
 "I would take it and keep it." 
 
 "A strong man has taken it and kept it long. Are you 
 stronger than Pelias the terrible?" 
 
 "I can try my strength with his," said Jason. But 
 Cheiron sighed and said: 
 
 "You have many a danger to go through before you 
 rule in lolcos by the sea; many a danger, and many a 
 woe; and strange troubles in strange lands, such as man 
 never saw before." 
 
 "The happier I," said Jason, "to see what man never 
 saw before."
 
 The Argonauts 237 
 
 And Cheiron sighed again, and said: "The eaglet 
 must leave the nest when it is fledged. Will you go to 
 lolcos by the sea ? Then promise me two things before 
 you go." 
 
 Jason promised, and Cheiron answered: "Speak 
 harshly to no soul whom you may meet, and stand by the 
 word which you shall speak." 
 
 Jason wondered why Cheiron asked this of him; but 
 he knew that the Centaur was a prophet, and saw things 
 long before they came. So he promised, and leapt down 
 the mountain, to take his fortune like a man. . ] 
 
 He went down through the arbutus thickets, and across 
 the downs of thyme, till he came to the vineyard walls, and 
 the pomegranates and the olives in the glen ; and among the 
 olives roared Anauros, all foaming with a summer flood. 
 
 And on the bank of Anauros sat a woman, all wrinkled 
 gray, and old; her head shook palsied on her breast, and 
 her hands shook palsied on her knees; and when she 
 saw Jason, she spoke whining: "Who will carry me 
 across the flood?" 
 
 Jason was bold and hasty, and was just going to leap 
 into the flood; and yet he thought twice before he leapt, 
 so loud roared the torrent down, all brown from the 
 mountain rains, and silver veined with melting snow; 
 while underneath he could hear the boulders rumbling 
 like the tramp of horsemen or the roll of wheels, as they 
 ground along the narrow channel, and shook the rocks on 
 which he stood. 
 
 But the old woman whined all the more: "I am 
 weak and old, fair youth. For Hera's sake, carry me 
 over the torrent." 
 
 And Jason was going to answer her scornfully, when 
 Cheiron's words came to his mind.
 
 238 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 So he said: "For Hera's sake, the Queen of the 
 Immortals on Olympus, I will carry you over the torrent, 
 unless we both are drowned midway." 
 
 Then the old dame leapt upon his back, as nimbly as 
 a goat; and Jason staggered in, wondering; and the first 
 step was up to his knees. 
 
 The first step was up to his knees, and the second step 
 was up to his waist; and the stones rolled about his feet, 
 and his feet slipped about the stones; so he went on 
 staggering and panting, while the old woman cried from 
 off his back: 
 
 "Fool, you have wet my mantle! Do you make game 
 of poor old souls like me ? " 
 
 Jason had half a mind to drop her, and let her get 
 through the torrent by herself; but Cheiron's words were 
 in his mind, and he said only: "Patience, mother; the 
 best horse may stumble some day." 
 
 At last he staggered to the shore, and set her down 
 upon the bank ; and a strong man he needed to have been, 
 or that wild water he never would have crossed. 
 
 He lay panting awhile upon the bank, and then leapt 
 up to go upon his journey ; but he cast one look at the old 
 woman, for he thought, "She should thank me once 
 at least." 
 
 And as he looked, she grew fairer than all women, 
 and taller than all men on earth ; and her garments shone 
 like the summer sea, and her jewels like the stars of 
 heaven; and over her forehead was a veil, woven of the 
 golden clouds of sunset; and through the veil she looked 
 down on him, with great soft heifer's eyes; with great 
 eyes, mild and awful, which filled all the glen with light. 
 
 And Jason fell upon his knees, and hid his face between 
 his hands.
 
 The Argonauts 239 
 
 And she spoke: "I am the Queen of Olympus, Hera 
 the wife of Zeus. As thou hast done to me, so will I do 
 to thee. Call on me in the hour of need, and try if the 
 Immortals can forget." 
 
 And when Jason looked up, she rose from off the earth, 
 like a pillar of tall white cloud, and floated away across 
 the mountain peaks, toward Olympus the holy hill. 
 
 Then a great fear fell 01? Jason; but after a while he 
 grew light of heart; and he blessed old Cheiron, and 
 said: "Surely the Centaur is a prophet, and guessed 
 what would come to pass, when he bade me speak harshly 
 to no soul whom I might meet." 
 
 Then he went down toward lolcos, and as he walked, 
 he found that he had lost one of his sandals in the flood. 
 
 And as he went through the streets, the people came 
 out to look at him, so tall and fair was he; but some of 
 the elders whispered together; and at last one of them 
 stopped Jason, and called to him: "Fair lad, who are 
 you, and whence come you; and what is your errand in 
 the town?" 
 
 "My name, good father, is Jason, and I come from 
 Pelion up above; and my errand is to Pelias your king; 
 tell me then where his palace is." 
 
 But the old man started, and grew pale, and said, 
 "Do you not know the oracle, my son, that you go so 
 boldly through the town, with but one sandal on?" 
 
 "I am a stranger here, and know of no oracle; but 
 what of my one sandal? I lost the other in Anauros. 
 while I was struggling with the flood." 
 
 Then the old man looked back to his companions ; and 
 one sighed and another smiled; at last he said: "I wil/ 
 tell you, lest you rush upon your ruin unawares. The 
 oracle hi Delphi has said, that a man wearing one sandal
 
 4O Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 should take the kingdom from Pelias, and keep it for 
 himself. Therefore beware how you go up to his palace, 
 for he is the fiercest and most cunning of all kings." 
 
 Then Jason laughed a great laugh, like a war horse 
 in his pride: " Good news, good father, both for you and 
 me. For that very end I came into the town." 
 
 Then he strode on toward the palace of Pelias, while 
 all the people wondered at his bearing. 
 
 And he stood in the doorway and cried, "Come out, 
 come out, Pelias the valiant, and fight for your kingdom 
 like a man." 
 
 Pelias came out wondering, and "Who are you, bold 
 youth?" he cried. 
 
 "I am Jason, the son of ^Eson, the heir of all this land." 
 
 Then Pelias lifted up his hands and eyes, and wept, 
 or seemed to weep; and blessed the heavens which had 
 brought his nephew to him, never to leave him more. 
 "For," said he, "I have but three daughters, and no 
 son to be my heir. You shall be my heir then, and rule 
 the kingdom after me, and marry whichsoever of my 
 daughters you shall choose; though a sad kingdom you 
 will find it, and whosoever rules it a miserable man. 
 But come in, come in, and feast." 
 
 So he drew Jason in, whether he would or not, and 
 spoke to him so lovingly and feasted him so well, that 
 Jason's anger passed; and after supper his three cousins 
 came into the hall, and Jason thought that he should 
 like well enough to have one of them for his wife. 
 
 But at last he said to Pelias, "Why do you look so sad, 
 my uncle ? And what did you mean just now, when you 
 said that this was a doleful kingdom, and its ruler a 
 miserable man?" 
 
 Then Pelias sighed heavily again and again and again,
 
 The Argonauts 241 
 
 like a man who had to tell some dreadful story and was 
 afraid to begin; but at last: 
 
 "For seven long years and more have I never known a 
 quiet night; and no more will he who comes after me, till 
 the golden fleece be brought home." 
 
 Then he told Jason the story of Phrixus, and of the 
 golden fleece; and told him, too, which was a lie, that 
 Phrixus's spirit tormented him, calling to him day and 
 night. And his daughters came, and told the same tale 
 (for their father had taught them their parts) and wept, 
 and said, "Oh, who will bring home the golden fleece, 
 that our uncle's spirit may have rest; and that we may 
 have rest also, whom he never lets sleep in peace?" 
 
 Jason sat awhile, sad and silent ; for he had often heard 
 of that golden fleece; but he looked on it as a thing hope- 
 less and impossible for any mortal man to win it. 
 
 But when Pelias saw him silent, he began to talk of 
 other things, and courted Jason more and more, speaking 
 to him as if he was certain to be his heir, and asking his 
 advice about the kingdom; till Jason who was young and 
 simple, could not help saying to himself, "Surely he is 
 not the dark man whom people call him. Yet why did 
 he drive my father out?" And he asked Pelias boldly, 
 "Men say that you are terrible, and a man of blood; 
 but I find you a kind and hospitable man; and as you 
 are to me, so will I be to you. Yet why did you drive 
 my father out?" 
 
 Pelias smiled and sighed: "Men have slandered me 
 in that, as hi all things. Your father was growing old 
 and weary, and he gave the kingdom up to me of his 
 own will. You shall see him to-morrow, and ask him; 
 and he will tell you the same." 
 
 Jason's heart leapt in him, when he heard that he
 
 242 MytJts Every Child Should Know 
 
 was to see his father; and he believed all that Pelias said, 
 forgetting that his father might not dare to tell the truth. 
 
 "One thing more there is," said Pelias, "on which 
 I need your advice ; for though you are young, I see in you 
 a wisdom beyond your years. There is one neighbour of 
 mine, whom I dread more than all men on earth. I am 
 stronger than he now, and can command him; but I know 
 that if he stay among us, he will work my ruin in the end. 
 Can you give me a plan, Jason, by which I can rid myself 
 of that man?" 
 
 After awhile, Jason answered, half laughing, "Were 
 I you, I would send him to fetch that same golden fleece ; 
 for if he once set forth after it you would never be troubled 
 with him more." 
 
 And at that a bitter smile came across Pelias's lips, and 
 a flash of wicked joy into his eyes ; and Jason saw it, and 
 started; and over his mind came the warning of the old 
 man, and his own one sandal, and the oracle, and he saw 
 that he was taken in a trap. 
 
 But Pelias only answered gently, "My son, he shall be 
 sent forthwith." 
 
 "You mean me?" cried Jason, starting up, "because 
 I came here with one sandal?" And he lifted his fist 
 angrily, while Pelias stood up to him like a wolf at bay; 
 and whether of the two was the stronger and the fiercer, 
 it would be hard to tell. 
 
 But after a moment Pelias spoke gently, "Why then so 
 rash, my son? You, and not I, have said what is said; 
 why blame me for what I have not done ? Had you bid 
 me love the man of whom I spoke, and make him my 
 son-in-law and heir, I would have obeyed you; and what 
 if I obey you now, and send the man to win himself 
 immortal fame ? I have not harmed you, or him. One
 
 The Argonauts 343 
 
 thing at least I know, that he will go, and that gladly; 
 for he has a hero's heart within him; loving glory, and 
 scorning to break the word which he has given." 
 
 Jason saw that he was entrapped; but his second 
 promise to Cheiron came into his mind, and he thought, 
 "What if the Centaur were a prophet in that also, and 
 meant that I should win the fleece!" Then he cried 
 aloud: 
 
 "You have well spoken, cunning uncle of mine! 
 I love glory, and I dare keep to my word. I will go and 
 fetch this golden fleece. Promise me but this in return, 
 and keep your word as I keep mine. Treat my father 
 lovingly while I am gone, for the sake of the all-seeing 
 Zeus; and give me up the kingdom for my own, on the 
 day that I bring back the golden fleece." 
 
 Then Pelias looked at him and almost loved him, in 
 the midst of all his hate; and said, "I promise, and I will 
 perform. It will be no shame to give up my kingdom 
 to the man who wins that fleece." 
 
 Then they swore a great oath between them ; and after- 
 ward both went in, and lay down to sleep. 
 
 But Jason could not sleep, for thinking of his mighty 
 oath, and how he was to fulfil it, all alone, and without 
 wealth or friends. So he tossed a long time upon his 
 bed, and thought of this plan and of that ; and sometimes 
 Phrixus seemed to call him, in a thin voice, faint and 
 low, as if it came from far across the sea, "Let me come 
 home to my fathers and have rest." And sometimes he 
 seemed to see the eyes of Hera, and to hear her words 
 again, "Call on me in the hour of need, and sec if the 
 Immortals can forget." 
 
 And on the morrow he went to Pelia*, and said, 
 
 " Give me a victim, that I may sacrifice to Hera." So he 
 
 i '* - 
 
 *
 
 244 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 went up, and offered his sacrifice; and as he stood by 
 the altar, Hera sent a thought into his mind; and he 
 went back to Pelias, and said: 
 
 "If you are indeed in earnest, give me two heralds, 
 that they may go round to all the princes of the Minuai 
 who were pupils of the Centaur with me, that we may 
 fit out a ship together, and take what shall befall." 
 
 At that Pelias praised his wisdom, and hastened to 
 send the heralds out; for he said in his heart: "Let all 
 the princes go with him, and like him, never return; 
 for so I shall be lord of all the Minuai, and the greatest 
 king in Hellas." 
 
 PART HI 
 
 How They Built the Ship Argo in lolcos 
 
 So the heralds went out, and cried to all the heroes of 
 the Minuai, "Who dare come to the adventure of the 
 golden fleece?" 
 
 And Hera stirred the hearts of all the princes, and they 
 came from all their valleys to the yellow sands of Pagasai. 
 And first came Heracles the mighty, with his lion's skin 
 and club, and behind him Hylas his young squire, who 
 bore his arrows and his bow; and Tiphys, the skilful 
 steersman; and Butes, the fairest of all men; and Castor 
 and Polydeuces the twins, the sons of the magic swan; 
 and Caineus, the strongest of mortals, whom the Centaurs 
 tried in vain to kill, and overwhelmed him with trunks 
 of pine trees, but even so he would not die; and thither 
 came Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of the north 
 wind; and Peleus, the father of Achilles, whose bride 
 was silver-footed Thetis the goddess of the sea. And
 
 The Argonauts 245 
 
 thither came Telamon and Oileus, the fathers of the 
 two Aiantes, who fought upon the plains of Troy; and 
 Mopsus, the wise soothsayer, who knew the speech of 
 birds; and Idmon, to whom Phoebus gave a tongue to 
 prophesy of things to come; and Ancaios, who could 
 read the stars, and knew all the circles of the heavens; 
 and Argus, the famed shipbuilder, and many a hero 
 more, in helmets of brass and gold with tall dyed horse- 
 hair crests, and embroidered shirts of linen beneath their 
 coats of mail, and greaves of polished tin to guard their 
 knees in fight ; with each man his shield upon his shoulder, 
 of many a fold of tough bull's hide, and his sword of 
 tempered bronze in his silver-studded belt, and in his 
 right hand a pair of lances, of the heavy white-ash stave. 
 
 So they came down to lolcos, and all the city came out 
 to meet them, and were never tired with looking at their 
 height, and their beauty, and their gallant bearing, and 
 the glitter of their inlaid arms. And some said, "Never 
 was such a gathering of the heroes since the Hellenes 
 conquered the land." But the women sighed over 
 them, and whispered, "Alas! they are all going to the 
 death." 
 
 Then they felled the pines on Pelion, and shaped 
 them with the axe, and Argus taught them to build a 
 galley, the first long ship which ever sailed the seas. 
 They pierced her for fifty oars, an oar for each hero of 
 the crew, and pitched her with coal-black pitch, and 
 painted her bows with vermilion; and they named her 
 Argo after Argus, and worked at her all day long. And 
 at night Pelias feasted them like a king, and they slept in 
 his palace porch. 
 
 But Jason went away to the northward, and into the 
 land of Thrace, till he found Orpheus, the prince of
 
 246 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 minstrels, where he dwelt in his cave under Rhodope, 
 among the savage Cicon tribes. And he asked him: 
 "Will you leave your mountains, Orpheus, my fellow 
 scholar in old times, and cross Strymon once more with 
 me, to sail with the heroes of the Minuai, and bring 
 home the golden fleece, and charm for us all men and all 
 monsters with your magic harp and song?" 
 
 Then Orpheus sighed: "Have I not had enough of 
 toil and of weary wandering far and wide, since I lived in 
 Cheiron's cave, above lolcos by the sea ? In vain is the 
 skill and the voice which my goddess mother gave me; 
 in vain have I sung and laboured; in vain I went down to 
 the dead, and charmed all the kings of Hades, to win 
 back Eurydice my bride. For I won her, my beloved, 
 and lost her again the same day, and wandered away in 
 my madness, even to Egypt and the Libyan sands, and 
 the isles of all the seas, driven on by the terrible gadfly, 
 while I charmed in vain the hearts of men, and the 
 savage forest beasts, and the trees, and the lifeless 
 stones, with my magic harp and song, giving rest, but 
 finding none. But at last Calliope, my mother, de- 
 livered me, and brought me home in peace; and I dwell 
 here in the cave alone, among the savage Cicon tribes, 
 softening their wild hearts with music and the gentle 
 laws of Zeus. And now I must go out again, to the 
 ends of all the earth, far away into the misty darkness, to 
 the last wave of the Eastern Sea. But what is doomed 
 must be, and a friend's demand obeyed; for prayers are 
 the daughters of Zeus, and who honours them honours 
 him." 
 
 Then Orpheus rose up sighing, and took his harp, and 
 went over Strymon. And he led Jason to the southwest, 
 up the banks of Haliacmon and over the spurs of Pindus,
 
 The Argonauts 247 
 
 to Dodona the town of Zeus, where it stood by the side of 
 the sacred lake, and the fountain which breathed out 
 fire, in the darkness of the ancient oak wood, beneath 
 the mountain of the hundred springs. And he led him 
 to the holy oak, where the black dove settled in old times, 
 and was changed into the priestess of Zeus, and gave 
 oracles to all nations round. And he bade him cut down 
 a bough, and sacrifice to Hera and to Zeus; and they 
 took the bough and came to lolcos, and nailed it to 
 the beak head of the ship. 
 
 And at last the ship was finished, and they tried to 
 launch her down the beach; but she was too heavy for 
 them to move her, and her keel sank deep in the sand. 
 Then all the heroes looked at each other blushing; 
 but Jason spoke, and said, "Let us ask the magic bough; 
 perhaps it can help us in our need." 
 
 Then a voice came from the bough, and Jason heard 
 the words it said, and bade Orpheus play upon the harp, 
 while the heroes waited round, holding the pine-trunk 
 rollers, to help her toward the sea. 
 
 Then Orpheus took his harp, and began his magic 
 song: "How sweet it is to ride upon the surges, and to 
 leap from wave to wave, while the wind sings cheerful 
 in the cordage, and the oars flash fast among the foam! 
 How sweet it is to roam across the ocean, and see new 
 towns and wondrous lands, and to come home laden 
 with treasure, and to win undying fame!" 
 
 And the good ship Argo heard him, and longed to be 
 away and out at sea; till she stirred in every timber, and 
 heaved from stem to stern, and leapt up from the sand 
 upon the rollers, and plunged onward like a gallant horse; 
 and the heroes fed her path with pine trunks, till she 
 rushed into the whispering sea.
 
 248 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Then they stored her well with food and water, and 
 pulled the ladder up on board, and settled themselves 
 each man to his oar, and kept time to Orpheus's harp; 
 and away across the bay they rowed southward, while 
 the people lined the cliffs ; and the women wept while the 
 men shouted, at the starting of that gallant crew. 
 
 PART IV 
 
 How the Argonauts Sailed to Colchis 
 
 AND what happened next, my children, whether it be 
 true or not, stands written in ancient songs, which you 
 shall read for yourselves some day. And grand old 
 songs they are, written in grand old rolling verse; and 
 they call them the Songs of Orpheus, or the Orphics, to 
 this day. And they tell how the heroes came to Aphetai, 
 across the bay, and waited for the southwest wind, and 
 chose themselves a captain from their crew: and how all 
 called for Heracles, because he was the strongest and 
 most huge; but Heracles refused, and called for Jason, 
 because he was the wisest of them all. So Jason was 
 chosen captain: and Orpheus heaped a pile of wood 
 and slew a bull, and offered it to Hera, and called all the 
 heroes to stand round, each man's head crowned with 
 olive, and to strike their swords into the bull. Then he 
 filled a golden goblet with the bull's blood, and with 
 wheaten flour, and honey, and wine, and the bitter salt 
 sea water, and bade the heroes taste. So each tasted the 
 goblet, and passed it round, and vowed an awful vow; and 
 they vowed before the sun, and the night, and the blue- 
 haired sea who shakes the land, to stand by Jason faith-
 
 The Argonauts 249 
 
 fully, in the adventure of the golden fleece ; and whosoever 
 shrank back, or disobeyed, or turned traitor to his vow, 
 then justice should witness against him, and the Erinnes 
 who track guilty men. 
 
 Then Jason lighted the pile, and burnt the carcass of 
 the bull; and they went to their ship and sailed eastward, 
 like men who have a work to do; and the place from 
 which they went was called Aphetai, the sailing place, 
 from that day forth. Three thousand years ago and 
 more they sailed away, into the unknown Eastern seas ; and 
 great nations have come and gone since then, and many 
 a storm has swept the earth; and many a mighty arma- 
 ment, to which Argo would be but one small boat, have 
 sailed those waters since; yet the fame of that small Argo 
 lives forever, and her name is become a proverb among 
 men. 
 
 So they sailed past the Isle of Sciathos, with the Cape 
 of Sepius on their left, and turned to the northward 
 toward Pelion, up the long Magnesian shore. On their 
 right hand was the open sea, and on their left old Pelion 
 rose, while the clouds crawled round his dark pine forests, 
 and his caps of summer snow. And their hearts yearned 
 for the dear old mountain, as they thought of pleasant 
 days gone by, and of the sports of their boyhood, and 
 their hunting, and their schooling in the cave beneath 
 the cliff. And at last Peleus spoke: "Let us land here, 
 friends, and climb the dear old hill once more. We 
 are going on a fearful journey: who knows if we shall see 
 Pelion again ? Let us go up to Cheiron our master, and 
 ask his blessing ere we start. And I have a boy, too, 
 with him, whom he trains as he trained me once, the son 
 whom Thetis brought me, the silver-footed lady of the 
 sea, whom I caught in the cave, and tamed her though
 
 *5o Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 she changed her shape seven times. For she changed, as 
 I held her, into water, and to vapour, and to burning 
 flame, and to a rock, and to a black-maned lion, and to a 
 tall and stately tree. But I held her and held her ever 
 till she took her own shape again, and led her to my 
 father's house, and won her for my bride. And all the 
 rulers of Olympus came to our wedding, and the heavens 
 and the earth rejoiced together, when an immortal 
 wedded mortal man. And now let me see my son; for 
 it is not often I shall see him upon earth; famous he will 
 be, but short lived, and die in the flower of youth." 
 
 So Tiphys, the helmsman, steered them to the shore 
 under the crags of Pelion; and they went up through the 
 the dark pine forests toward the Centaur's cave. 
 
 And they came into the misty hall, beneath the snow- 
 crowned crag; and saw the great Centaur lying with his 
 huge limbs spread upon the rock; and beside him stood 
 Achilles, the child whom no steel could wound, and 
 played upon his harp right sweetly, while Cheiron watched 
 and smiled. 
 
 Then Cheiron leapt up and welcomed them, and kissed 
 them every one, and set a feast before them, of swine's 
 flesh, and venison, and good wine; and young Achilles 
 served them, and carried the golden goblet round. 
 And after supper all the heroes clapped their hands, and 
 called on Orpheus to sing; but he refused, and said, 
 "How can I, who am the younger, sing before our 
 ancient host?" So they called on Cheiron to sing, and 
 Achilles brought him his harp ; and he began a wondrous 
 song; a famous story of old time, of the fight between 
 Centaurs and the Lapithai, which you may still see carved 
 in stone. He sang how his brothers came to ruin by 
 their folly, when they were mad with wine ; and how they
 
 The Argonauts 251 
 
 and the heroes fought, with fists, and teeth, and the 
 goblets from which they drank; and how they tore up 
 the pine trees in their fury, and hurled great crags of 
 stone, while .the mountains thundered with the battle, 
 and the land was wasted far and wide; till the Lapithai 
 drove them from their home in the rich Thessalian plains 
 to the lonely glens of Pindus, leaving Cheiron all alone. 
 And the heroes praised his song right heartily; for some 
 of them had helped in that great fight. 
 
 Then Orpheus took the lyre, and sang of Chaos, and 
 the making of the wondrous World, and how all things 
 sprang from Love, who could not live alone in the 
 Abyss. And as he sang, his voice rose from the cave, 
 above the crags, and through the tree tops, and the glens 
 of oak and pine. And the trees bowed their heads 
 when they heard it, and the gray rocks cracked and rang, 
 and the forest beasts crept near to listen, and the birds 
 forsook their nests and hovered round. And old Cheiron 
 clapt his hands together, and beat his hoofs upon the 
 ground, for wonder at that magic song. 
 
 Then Peleus kissed his boy, and wept over him, and 
 they went down to the ship ; and Cheiron came down with 
 them, weeping, and kissed them one by one, and blest 
 them, and promised to them great renown. And the 
 heroes wept when they left him, till their great hearts 
 could weep no more ; for he was kind and just and pious, 
 and wiser than all beasts and men. Then he went up to 
 a cliff, and prayed for them, that they might come home 
 safe and well; while the heroes rowed away, and watched 
 him standing on his cliff above the sea, with his great 
 hands raised toward heaven, and his white locks waving 
 in the wind ; and they strained their eyes to watch him to 
 Ihe last, for they felt that they should look on him no more.
 
 252 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 So they rowed on over the long swell of the sea, past 
 Olympus, the seat of the immortals, and past the wooded 
 bays of Athos, and Samothrace, the sacred isle; and they 
 came past Lemnos to the Hellespont, and through the 
 narrow strait of Abydos, and so on into the Propontis, 
 which we call Marmora now. And there they met with 
 Cyzicus, ruling in Asia over the Dolions, who, the songs 
 say, was the son of ^Eneas, of whom you will hear many 
 a tale some day. For Homer tells us how he fought at 
 Troy; and Virgil how he sailed away and founded Rome; 
 and men believed until late years that from him sprang 
 the old British kings. Now Cyzicus, the songs say, 
 welcomed the heroes; for his father had been one of 
 Cheiron's scholars; so he welcomed them, and feasted 
 them, and stored their ship with corn and wine, and 
 cloaks and rugs, the songs say, and shirts, of which no 
 doubt they stood in need. 
 
 But at night, while they lay sleeping, came down on 
 them terrible men, who lived with the bears in the moun- 
 tains, like Titans or giants in shape; for each of them 
 had six arms, and they fought with young firs and pines. 
 But Heracles killed them all before morn with his deadly 
 poisoned arrows; but among them, in the darkness, he 
 slew Cyzicus the kindly prince. 
 
 Then they got to their ship and to their oars, and 
 Tiphys bade them cast off the hawsers, and go to sea. 
 But as he spoke a whirlwind came, and spun the Argo 
 round, and twisted the hawsers together, so that no man 
 could loose them. Then Tiphys dropped the rudder 
 from his hand, and cried, "This comes from the Gods 
 above." But Jason went forward, and asked counsel of 
 the magic bough. 
 
 Then the magic bough spoke and answered: "This is
 
 The Argonauts 253 
 
 because you have slain Cyzicus your friend. You must 
 appease his soul, or you will never leave this shore/' 
 
 Jason went back sadly, and told the heroes what he 
 had heard. And they leapt on shore, and searched till 
 dawn; and at dawn they found the body, all rolled in dust 
 and blood, among the corpses of those monstrous beasts. 
 And they wept over their kind host, and laid him on a 
 fair bed, and heaped a huge mound over him, and offered 
 black sheep at his tomb, and Orpheus sang a magic 
 song to him, that his spirit might have rest. And then 
 they held games at the tomb, after the custom of those 
 times, and Jason gave prizes to each winner. To Ancaeus 
 he gave a golden cup, for he wrestled best of all; and to 
 Heracles a silver one, for he was the strongest of all; 
 and to Castor, who rode best, a golden crest; and Poly- 
 deuces the boxer had a rich carpet, and to Orpheus for 
 his song, a sandal with golden wings. But Jason himself 
 was the best of all the archers, and the Minuai crowned 
 him with an olive crown ; and so, the songs say, the soul of 
 good Cyzicus was appeased, and the heroes went on their 
 way in peace. 
 
 But when Cyzicus's wife heard that he was dead, she 
 died likewise of grief; and her tears became a fountain 
 of clear water, which flows the whole year round. 
 
 Then they rowed away, the songs say, along the Mysian 
 shore, and past the mouth of Rhindacus, till they found a 
 pleasant bay, sheltered by the long ridges of Arganthus, 
 and by high walls of basalt rock. And there they ran 
 the ship ashore upon the yellow sand, and furled the sail, 
 and took the mast down, and lashed it in its crutch. And 
 next they let down the ladder, and went ashore to sport 
 and rest. 
 
 And there Heracles went away into the woods, bow in
 
 a$4 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 hand, to hunt wild deer; and Hylas the fair boy slipt awaj 
 after him, and followed him by stealth, until he lost 
 himself among the glens, and sat down weary to rest 
 himself by the side of a lake; and there the water nymphs 
 came up to look at him, and loved him, and carried him 
 down under the lake to be their playfellow, forever happy 
 and young. And Heracles sought for him in vain, shout- 
 ing his name till all the mountains rang; but Hylas never 
 heard him, far down under the sparkling lake. So while 
 Heracles wandered searching for him, a fair breeze 
 sprang up, and Heracles was nowhere to be found; and 
 the Argo sailed away, and Heracles was left behind, and 
 never saw the noble Phasian stream. 
 
 Then the Minuai came to a doleful land, where Amycus 
 the giant ruled, and cared nothing for the laws of Zeus, but 
 challenged all strangers to box with him, and those 
 whom he conquered he slew. But Polydeuces the 
 boxer struck him a harder blow than he ever felt before, 
 and slew him; and the Minuai went on up the Bosphorus, 
 till they came to the city of Phineus, the fierce Bithynian 
 king; for Zetes and Calais bade Jason land there, because 
 they had a work to do. 
 
 And they went up from the shore toward the city, 
 through forests white with snow ; and Phineus came out to 
 meet them with a lean and woeful face, and said, "Wel- 
 come, gallant heroes, to the land of bitter blasts, a land 
 of cold and misery; yet I will feast you as best I can." 
 And he led them in, and set meat before them; but before 
 they could put their hands to their mouths, down came 
 two fearful monsters, the like of whom man never saw; 
 for they had the faces and the hair of fair maidens, but 
 the wings and claws of hawks ; and they snatched the meat 
 from off the table, and flew shrieking out above the roofs.
 
 The Argonauts 255 
 
 Then Phineus beat his breast and cried, "These are 
 the Harpies, whose names are the Whirlwind and the 
 Swift, the daughters of Wonder and of the Amber nymph, 
 and they rob us night and day. They carried off the 
 daughters of Pandareus, whom all the Gods had blest; 
 for Aphrodite fed them on Olympus with honey and 
 milk and wine; and Hera gave them beauty and wisdom, 
 and Athene skill in all the arts; but when they came to 
 their wedding, the Harpies snatched them both away, 
 and gave them to be slaves to the Erinnues, and live in 
 horror all their days. And now they haunt me, and my 
 people, and the Bosphorus, with fearful storms; and 
 sweep away our food from off our tables, so that we 
 starve in spite of all our wealth." 
 
 Then up rose Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of the 
 North wind, and said, "Do you not know us, Phineus, 
 and these wings which grow upon our backs?" And 
 Phineus hid his face in terror; but he answered not a 
 word. 
 
 "Because you have been a traitor, Phineus, the Harpies 
 haunt you night and day. Where is Cleopatra our sister, 
 your wife, whom you keep in prison ? and where are her 
 two children, whom you blinded in your rage, at the bid- 
 ding of an evil woman, and cast them out upon the rocks ? 
 Swear to us that you will right our sister, and cast out that 
 wicked woman; and then we will free you from your 
 plague, and drive the whirlwind maidens from the south; 
 but if not, we will put out your eyes, as you put out the 
 eyes of your own sons." 
 
 Then Phineus swore an oath to them, and drove out 
 the wicked woman; and Jason took those two poor chil- 
 dren, and cured their eyes with magic herbs. 
 
 But Zetes and Calais rose up sadly, and said: "Fare-
 
 256 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 well now, heroes all; farewell, our dear companions, with 
 whom we played on Pelion in old times; for a fate is 
 laid upon us, and our day is come at last, in which we may 
 hunt the whirlwinds, over land and sea forever; and if we 
 catch them they die, and if not, we die ourselves." 
 
 At that all the heroes wept; but the two young men 
 sprang up, and aloft into the air after the Harpies, and 
 the battle of the winds began. 
 
 The heroes trembled in silence as they heard the shriek- 
 ing of the blasts ; while the palace rocked and all the city, 
 and great stones were torn from the crags, and the forest 
 pines were hurled eastward, north and south and east and 
 west, and the Bosphorus boiled white with foam, and the 
 clouds were dashed against the cliffs. 
 
 But at last the battle ended, and the Harpies fled 
 screaming toward the south, and the sons of the North 
 wind rushed after them, and brought clear sunshine 
 where they passed. For many a league they followed 
 them, over all the isles of the Cyclades, and away to the 
 southwest across Hellas, till they came to the Ionian 
 Sea, and there they fell upon the Echinades, at the mouth 
 of the Achelous ; and those isles were called the Whirlwind 
 Isles for many a hundred years. But what became of 
 Zetes and Calais I know not; for the heroes never saw 
 them again; and some say that Heracles met them, and 
 quarrelled with them, and slew them with his arrows; 
 and some say that they fell down from weariness and the 
 heat of the summer sun, and that the Sun god buried 
 them among the Cyclades, in the pleasant Isle of Tenos; 
 and for many hundred years their grave was shown there, 
 and over it a pillar, which turned to every wind. But 
 those dark storms and whirlwinds haunt the Bosphorus 
 until this day.
 
 The Argonauts 257 
 
 But the Argonauts went eastward, and out into the 
 open sea, which we now call the Black Sea, but it was 
 called the Euxine then. No Hellen had ever crossed it, 
 and all feared that dreadful sea, and its rocks, and 
 shoals, and fogs, and bitter freezing storms; and they told 
 strange stories of it, some false and some half true, how it 
 stretched northward to the ends of the earth, and the 
 sluggish Putrid Sea, and the everlasting night, and the 
 regions of the dead. So the heroes trembled, for all their 
 courage, as they came into that wild Black Sea, and saw 
 it stretching out before them, without a shore, as far as 
 eye could see. 
 
 And first Orpheus spoke, and warned them: "We 
 shall come now to the wandering blue rocks; my mother 
 warned me of them, Calliope, the immortal muse." 
 
 And soon they saw the blue rocks shining, like spires 
 and castles of gray glass, while an ice-cold wind blew from 
 them, and chilled all the heroes' hearts. And as they 
 neared, they could see them heaving, as they rolled upon 
 the long sea waves, crashing and grinding together, till the 
 roar went up to heaven. The sea sprang up in spouts 
 between them, and swept round them in white sheets of 
 foam; but their heads swung nodding high in air, while 
 the wind whistled shrill among the crags. 
 
 The heroes' hearts sank within them, and they lay 
 upon their oars in fear; but Orpheus called to Tiphys 
 the helmsman: "Between them we must pass; so loak 
 ahead for an opening, and be brave, for Hera is with us." 
 But Tiphys the cunning helmsman stood silent, clenching 
 his teeth, till he saw a heron come flying mast high 
 toward the rocks, and hover awhile before them, as if 
 looking for a passage through. Then he cried, "Hera 
 has sent us a pilot; let us follow the cunning bird."
 
 *5& Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Then the heron flapped to and fro a moment, till he 
 saw a hidden gap, and into it he rushed like an arrow, 
 while the heroes watched what would befall. 
 
 And the blue rocks clashed together as the bird fled 
 swiftly through; but they struck but a feather from his 
 tail, and then rebounded apart at the shock. 
 
 Then Tiphys cheered the heroes, and they shouted; 
 and the oars bent like withes beneath their strokes, as 
 they rushed between those toppling ice crags, and the 
 cold blue lips of death. And ere the rocks could meet 
 again they had passed them, and were safe out in the open 
 sea. 
 
 And after that they sailed on wearily along the Asian 
 coast, by the Black Cape and Thyneis, where the hot 
 stream of Thymbris falls into the sea, and Sangarius, 
 whose waters float on the Euxine, till they came to Wolf 
 the river, and to Wolf the kindly king. And there died 
 two brave heroes, Idmon and Tiphys the wise helmsman; 
 one died of an evil sickness, and one a wild boar slew. 
 So the heroes heaped a mound above them, and set upon 
 it an oar on high, and left them there to sleep together, 
 on the far-off Lycian shore. But Idas killed the boar, and 
 avenged Tiphys; and Ancaios took the rudder and was 
 helmsman, and steered them on toward the east. 
 
 And they went on past Sinope, and many a mighty 
 river's mouth, and past many a barbarous tribe, and the 
 cities of the Amazons, the warlike women of the East, 
 till all night they heard the clank of anvils and the roar 
 of furnace blasts, and the forge fires shone like sparks 
 through the darkness, in the mountain glens aloft; for 
 they were come to the shores of the Chalybes, the smiths 
 who never tire, but serve Ares the cruel War god, forging 
 weapons day and night,
 
 The Argonauts 259 
 
 And at day dawn they looked eastward, and midway 
 between the sea and the sky they saw white snow peaks 
 hanging glittering sharp and bright above the clouds. 
 And they knew that they were come to Caucasus, at the 
 end of all the earth ; Caucasus the highest of all mountains, 
 the father of the rivers of the East. On his peak lies 
 chained the Titan, while a vulture tears his heart; and at 
 his feet are piled dark forests round the magic Colchian 
 land. 
 
 And they rowed three days to the eastward, while 
 Caucasus rose higher hour by hour, till they saw the dark 
 stream of Phasis rushing headlong to the sea, and shining 
 abcve the treetops, the golden roofs of King Aietes, the 
 child of the sun. 
 
 Then oui spoke Ancaios the helmsman: "We are 
 come to our goal at last ; for there are the roofs of Aietes, 
 and the woods where all poisons grow ; but who can tell us 
 where among them is hid the golden fleece? Many a 
 toil must we bear ere we find it, and bring it home to 
 Greece." 
 
 But Jason cheered the heroes, for his heart was high 
 and bold; and he said: "I will go alone up to Aietes, 
 though he be the child of the sun, and win him with soft 
 words. Better so than to go altogether, and to come 
 to blows at once." But the Minuai would not stay 
 behind, so they rowed boldly up the stream. 
 
 And a dream came to Aietes, and filled his heart with 
 fear. He thought he saw a shining star, which fell into 
 his daughter's lap; and that Medeia his daughter took it 
 gladly, and carried it to the river side, and cast it in, and 
 there the whirling river bore it down, and out into th 
 Euxine Sea. 
 
 Then he leapt up in fear, and bade his servants bring
 
 a6s Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 terrible, and who can win the golden fleece?" But 
 Chalciope said: "These men are not like our men; 
 there is nothing which they cannot dare nor do." 
 
 And Medeia thought of Jason and his brave coun- 
 tenance, and said: "If there was one among them who 
 knew no fear, I could show him how to win the fleece." 
 
 So in the dusk of evening they went down to the river- 
 side, Chalciope and Medeia the witch maiden, and Argus, 
 PhrLxus's son. And Argus the boy crept forward, 
 among the beds of reeds, till he came where the heroes 
 were sleeping, on the thwarts of the ship, beneath the 
 bank, while Jason kept ward on shore, and leant upon 
 his lance full of thought. And the boy came to Jason, 
 and said: 
 
 "I am the son of Phrixus, your cousin; and Chalciope 
 my mother waits for you, to talk about the golden fleece." 
 
 Then Jason went boldly with the boy, and found the 
 two princesses standing; and when Chalciope saw him 
 she wept, and took his hands, and cried: 
 
 "O cousin of my beloved, go home before you die!" 
 
 "It would be base to go home now, fair princess, 
 and to have sailed all these seas in vain." Then both 
 the princesses besought him: but Jason said, "It is 
 too late." 
 
 "But you know not," said Medeia, "what he must do 
 who would win the fleece. He must tame the two brazen- 
 footed bulls, who breathe devouring flame; and with 
 them he must plough ere nightfall four acres in the field 
 of Ares; and he must sow them with serpents' teeth, of 
 which each tooth springs up into an armed man. Then 
 he must fight with all those warriors; and little will it 
 profit him to conquer them; for the fleece is guarded by 
 a serpent, more huge than any mountain pine; and over
 
 The Argonauts 363 
 
 his body you must step, if you would reach the golden 
 fleece." 
 
 Then Jason laughed bitterly. "Unjustly is that fleece 
 kept here, and by an unjust and lawless king; and un- 
 justly shall I die in my youth, for I will attempt it ere 
 another sun be set." 
 
 Then Medeia trembled, and said: "No mortal man 
 can reach that fleece, unless I guide him through. For 
 round it, beyond the river, is a wall full nine ells high, 
 with lofty towers and buttresses, and mighty gates of 
 threefold brass; and over the gates the wall is arched, 
 with golden battlements above. And over the gateway 
 sits Brimo, the wild witch huntress of the woods, brand- 
 ishing a pine torch in her hands, while her mad hounds 
 howl around. No man dare meet her or look on her, 
 but only I her priestess, and she watches far and wide 
 lest any stranger should come near." 
 
 "No wall so high but it may be climbed at last, and 
 no wood so thick but it may be crawled through; no 
 serpent so wary but he may be charmed, or witch queen 
 so fierce but spells may soothe her; and I may yet win 
 the golden fleece, if a wise maiden help bold men." 
 
 And he looked at Medeia cunningly, and held her 
 with his glittering eye, till she blushed and trembled, and 
 said: 
 
 "Who can face the fire of the bulls' breath, and fight 
 ten thousand armed men?" 
 
 "He whom you help," said Jason, flattering her, ''for 
 your fame is spread over all the earth. Are you not the 
 queen of all enchantresses, wiser even than your sister 
 Circe, in her fairy island in the West?" 
 
 "Would that I were with my sister Circe in her fairy 
 island in the West, far away from sore temptation, and
 
 a6s Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 terrible, and who can win the golden fleece?" But 
 Chalciope said: "These men are not like our men; 
 there is nothing which they cannot dare nor do." 
 
 And Medeia thought of Jason and his brave coun- 
 tenance, and said: "If there was one among them who 
 knew no fear, I could show him how to win the fleece." 
 
 So in the dusk of evening they went down to the river- 
 side, Chalciope and Medeia the witch maiden, and Argus, 
 Phrixus's son. And Argus the boy crept forward, 
 among the beds of reeds, till he came where the heroes 
 were sleeping, on the thwarts of the ship, beneath the 
 bank, while Jason kept ward on shore, and leant upon 
 his lance full of thought. And the boy came to Jason, 
 and said: 
 
 "I am the son of Phrixus, your cousin; and Chalciope 
 my mother waits for you, to talk about the golden fleece." 
 
 Then Jason went boldly with the boy, and found the 
 two princesses standing; and when Chalciope saw him 
 she wept, and took his hands, and cried: 
 
 "O cousin of my beloved, go home before you die!" 
 
 "It would be base to go home now, fair princess, 
 and to have sailed all these seas in vain." Then both 
 the princesses besought him: but Jason said, "It is 
 too late." 
 
 "But you know not," said Medeia, "what he must do 
 who would win the fleece. He must tame the two brazen- 
 footed bulls, who breathe devouring flame; and with 
 them he must plough ere nightfall four acres in the field 
 of Ares; and he must sow them with serpents' teeth, of 
 which each tooth springs up into an armed man. Then 
 he must fight with all those warriors; and little will it 
 profit him to conquer them; for the fleece is guarded by 
 a serpent, more huge than any mountain pine; and ovex
 
 The Argonauts aoj 
 
 his body you must step, if you would reach the golden 
 fleece." 
 
 Then Jason laughed bitterly. "Unjustly is that fleece 
 kept here, and by an unjust and lawless king; and un- 
 justly shall I die in my youth, for I will attempt it ere 
 another sun be set." 
 
 Then Medeia trembled, and said: "No mortal man 
 can reach that fleece, unless I guide him through. For 
 round it, beyond the river, is a wall full nine ells high, 
 with lofty towers and buttresses, and mighty gates of 
 threefold brass; and over the gates the wall is arched, 
 with golden battlements above. And over the gateway 
 sits Brimo, the wild witch huntress of the woods, brand- 
 ishing a pine torch in her hands, while her mad hounds 
 howl around. No man dare meet her or look on her, 
 but only I her priestess, and she watches far and wide 
 lest any stranger should come near." 
 
 "No wall so high but it may be climbed at last, and 
 no wood so thick but it may be crawled through; no 
 serpent so wary but he may be charmed, or witch queen 
 so fierce but spells may soothe her; and I may yet win 
 the golden fleece, if a wise maiden help bold men." 
 
 And he looked at Medeia cunningly, and held her 
 with his glittering eye, till she blushed and trembled, and 
 said: 
 
 "Who can face the fire of the bulls' breath, and fight 
 ten thousand armed men?" 
 
 "He whom you help," said Jason, flattering her, ''for 
 your fame is spread over all the earth. Are you not the 
 queen of all enchantresses, wiser even than your sister 
 Circe, in her fairy island in the West?" 
 
 "Would that I were with my sister Circe in her fairy 
 island in the West, far away from sore temptation, and
 
 264 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 thoughts which tear the heart! But if it must be so for 
 why should you die ? I have an ointment here ; I made 
 it from the magic ice flower which sprang from Prome- 
 theus's wound, above the clouds on Caucasus, in the 
 dreary fields of snow. Anoint yourself with that, and 
 you shall have in you seven men's strength ; and anoint 
 your shield with it, and neither fire nor sword can harm 
 you. But what you begin you must end before sunset, 
 for its virtue lasts only one day. And anoint your helmet 
 with it before you sow the serpents' teeth ; and when the 
 sons of earth spring up, cast your helmet among their 
 ranks, and the deadly crop of the War-god's field will 
 mow itself, and perish." 
 
 Then Jason fell on his knees before her, and thanked 
 her and kissed her hands; and she gave him the vase 
 of ointment, and fled trembling through the reeds. And 
 Jason told his comrades what had happened, and showed 
 them the box of ointment; and all rejoiced but Idas 
 and he grew mad with envy. 
 
 And at sunrise Jason went and bathed, and anointed 
 himself from head to foot, and his shield, and his helmet, 
 and his weapons, and bade his comrades try the spell. 
 So they tried to bend his lance, but it stood like an iron 
 bar; and Idas in spite hewed at it with his sword, but 
 the blade flew to splinters in his face. Then they hurled 
 their lances at his shield, but the spear points turned like 
 lead; and Caineus tried to throw him, but he never 
 stirred a foot; and Polydeuces struck him with his fist 
 a blow which would have killed an ox; but Jason only 
 smiled, and the heroes danced about him with delight; 
 and he leapt and ran, and shouted, in the joy of that 
 enormous strength, till the sun rose, and it was time to 
 go and to claim Aietes's promise.
 
 The Argonauts 265 
 
 So he sent up Telamon and Aithalides to tell Aietes 
 that he was ready for the fight ; and they went up among 
 the marble walls, and beneath the roofs of gold, and stood 
 in Aietes's hall, while he grew pale with rage. 
 
 "Fulfil your promise to us, child of the blazing sun. 
 Give us the serpents' teeth, and let loose the fiery bulls; 
 for we have found a champion among us who can win 
 the golden fleece." 
 
 And Aietes bit his lips, for he fancied that they had 
 fled away by night; but he could not go back from his 
 promise; so he gave them the serpents' teeth. 
 
 Then he called for his chariot and his horses, and 
 sent heralds through all the town; and all the people 
 went out with him to the dreadful War-god's field. 
 
 And there Aietes sat upon his throne, with his warriors 
 on each hand, thousands and tens of thousands, clothed 
 from head to foot in steel-chain mail. And the people 
 and the women crowded to every window, and bank 
 and wall; while the Minuai stood together, a mere hand- 
 ful in the midst of that great host. 
 
 And Chalciope was there and Argus, trembling, and 
 Medeia, wrapped closely in her veil; but Aietes did not 
 know that she was muttering cunning spells between 
 her lips. 
 
 Then Jason cried, "Fulfil your promise, and let your 
 fiery bulls come forth." 
 
 Then Aietes bade open the gates, and the magic bulls 
 leapt out. Their brazen hoofs rang upon the ground, 
 and their nostrils sent out sheets of flame, as they rushed 
 with lowered heads upon Jason; but he never flinched 
 a step. The flame of their breath swept round him, 
 but it singed not a hair of his head ; and the bulls stopped 
 short and trembled, when Medeia began her spell.
 
 3(56 Hytlis Every Child Should Know 
 
 Then Jason sprang upon the nearest, and seized him 
 by the horn; and up and down they wrestled, till the bull 
 fell grovelling on his knees; for the heart of the brute 
 died within him, and his mighty limbs were loosed 
 beneath the steadfast eye of that dark witch maiden, 
 and the magic whisper of her lips. 
 
 So both the bulls were tamed and yoked; and Jason 
 bound them to the plough, and goaded them onward 
 with his lance, till he had ploughed the sacred field. 
 
 And all the Minuai shouted; but Aietes bit his lips 
 with rage; for the half of Jason's work was over, and 
 the sun was yet high in heaven. 
 
 Then he took the serpents' teeth and sowed them, 
 and waited what would befall. But Medeia looked at 
 him and at his helmet, lest he should forget the lesson 
 she had taught. 
 
 And every furrow heaved and bubbled, and out of 
 every clod rose a man. Out of the earth they rose by 
 thousands, each clad from head to foot in steel, and 
 drew their swords and rushed on Jason, where he stood 
 in the midst alone. Then the Minuai grew pale with 
 fear for him; but Aietes laughed a bitter laugh. "See! 
 if I had not warriors enough already round me, I could 
 call them out of the bosom of the earth." 
 
 But Jason snatched off his helmet, and hurled it into 
 the thickest of the throng. And blind madness came 
 upon them, suspicion, hate, and fear; and one cried to 
 his fellow, "Thou didst strike me!" and another, "Thou 
 art Jason; thou shalt die!" So fury seized those earth- 
 born phantoms, and each turned his hand against the 
 rest; and they fought and were never weary, till they 
 all lay dead upon the ground. Then the magic furrows 
 opened, and the kind earth took them home into ner
 
 The Argonauts 267 
 
 breast; and the grass grew up all green again above 
 them, and Jason's work was done. 
 
 Then the Minuai rose and shouted, till Prometheus 
 heard them from his crag. And Jason cried: "Lead 
 me to the fleece this moment, before the sun goes down." 
 
 But Aietes thought: "He has conquered the bulls; 
 and sown and reaped the deadly crop. Who is this who 
 is proof against all magic? He may kill the serpent 
 yet." So he delayed, and sat taking counsel with his 
 princes, till the sun went down and all was dark. Then 
 he bade a herald cry, "Every man to his home for to-night. 
 To-morrow we will meet these heroes, and speak about 
 the golden fleece." 
 
 Then he turned and looked at Medeia: "This is 
 your doing, false witch maidl You have helped these 
 yellow-haired strangers, and brought shame upon your 
 father and yourself 1" 
 
 Medeia shrank and trembled, and her face grew pale 
 with fear; and Aietes knew that she was guilty, and 
 whispered, "If they win the fleece, you die!" 
 
 But the Minuai marched toward their ship, growling 
 like lions cheated of their prey; for they saw that Aietes 
 meant to mock them, and to cheat them out of all their 
 toil. And Oileus said, "Let us go to the grove together, 
 and take the fleece by force." 
 
 And Idas the rash cried, "Let us draw lots who shall 
 go in first; for while the dragon is devouring one, the 
 rest can slay him, and carry off the fleece in peace." 
 But Jason held them back, though he praised them; 
 for he hoped for Medeia's help. 
 
 And after awhile Medeia came trembling, and wept a 
 long while before she spoke. And at last: 
 
 "My end is come, and I must die; for my father has
 
 268 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 found out that I have helped you. You he would kill 
 if he dared ; but he will not harm you, because you have 
 been his guests. Go then, go, and remember poor 
 Medeia when you are far away across the sea." But 
 all the heroes cried: 
 
 "If you die, we die with you; for without you we 
 cannot win the fleece, and home we will not go without 
 it, but fall here fighting to the last man." 
 
 "You need not die," said Jason. "Flee home with 
 us across the sea. Show us first how to win the fleece; 
 for you can do it. Why else are you the priestess of 
 the grove? Show us but how to win the fleece, and 
 come with us, and you shall be my queen, and rule over 
 the rich princes of the Minuai, in lolcos by the sea." 
 
 And all the heroes pressed round, and vowed to her 
 that she should be their queen. 
 
 Medeia wept, and shuddered, and hid her face in 
 her hands; for her heart yearned after her sisters and 
 her playfellows, and the home where she was brought 
 up as a child. But at last she looked up at Jason, and 
 spoke between her sobs: 
 
 "Must I leave my home and my people, to wander 
 with strangers across the sea? The lot is cast, and I 
 must endure it. I will show you how to win the golden 
 fleece. Bring up your ship to the woodside, and moor 
 her there against the bank and let Jason come up at 
 midnight, and one brave comrade with him, and meet 
 me beneath the wall." 
 
 Then all the heroes cried together: "I will go!" 
 "and I!" "and I!" And Idas the rash grew mad with 
 envy; for he longed to be foremost in all things. But 
 Medeia calmed them, and said: "Orpheus shall go 
 with Jason, and bring his magic harp ; for I hear of him
 
 The Argonauts 269 
 
 that he is the king of all minstrels, and can charm all 
 things on earth." 
 
 And Orpheus laughed for joy, and clapped his 
 hands, because the choice had fallen on him; for in 
 those days poets and singers were as bold warriors as 
 the best. 
 
 So at midnight they went up the bank, and found 
 Medeia; and beside came Absyrtus her young brother, 
 leading a yearling lamb. 
 
 Then Medeia brought them to a thicket, beside the 
 War-god's gate; and there she bade Jason dig a ditch, 
 and kill the lamb and leave it there, and strew on it 
 magic herbs and honey from the honeycomb. 
 
 Then sprang up through the earth, with the red fire 
 flashing before her, Brimo the wild witch huntress, 
 while her mad hounds howled around. She had one 
 head like a horse's, and another like a ravening hound's, 
 and another like a hissing snake's, and a sword in either 
 hand. And she leapt into the ditch with her hounds, 
 and they ate and drank their fill, while Jason and Orpheus 
 trembled, and Medeia hid her eyes. And at last the 
 witch queen vanished, and fled with her hounds into 
 the woods; and the bars of the gates fell down, and 
 the brazen doors flew wide, and Medeia and the 
 heroes ran forward and hurried through the poison 
 wood, among the dark stems of the mighty beeches, guided 
 by the gleam of the golden fleece, until they saw it hang- 
 ing on one vast tree in the midst. And Jason would have 
 sprung to seize it; but Medeia held him back, and 
 pointed shuddering to the tree foot, where the mighty 
 serpent lay, coiled in and out among the roots, with a 
 body like a mountain pine. His coils stretched many 
 a fathom, spangled with bronze and gold; and hah* of
 
 270 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 him they could see, but no more; for the rest lay in 
 the darkness far beyond. 
 
 And when he saw them coming, he lifted up his head, 
 and watched them with his small bright eyes, and flashed 
 his forked tongue, and roared like the fire among the 
 woodlands, till the forest tossed and groaned. For his 
 cry shook the trees from leaf to root, and swept over 
 the long reaches of the river, and over ^etes's hall, 
 and woke the sleepers in the city, till mothers clasped 
 their children in their fear. 
 
 But Medeia called gently to him; and he stretched 
 out his long spotted neck, and licked her hand, and 
 looked up in her face, as if to ask for food. Then she 
 made a sign to Orpheus, and he began his magic song. 
 
 And as he sung, the forest grew calm again, and the 
 leaves on every tree hung still; and the serpent's head 
 sank down, and his brazen coils grew limp, and his 
 glittering eyes closed lazily, till he breathed as gently as 
 a child, while Orpheus called to pleasant Slumber, who 
 gives peace to men, and beasts, and waves. 
 
 Then Jason leapt forward warily, and stept across 
 that mighty snake, and tore the fleece from off the tree 
 trunk; and the four rushed down the garden, to the 
 bank where the Argo lay. 
 
 There was a silence for a moment, while Jason held 
 the golden fleece on high. Then he cried: "Go now, 
 good Argo, swift and steady, if ever you would see Felion 
 more." 
 
 And she went, as the heroes drove her, grim and silent 
 all, with muffled oars, till the pine wood bent like willow 
 in their hands, and stout Argo groaned beneath their 
 strokes. 
 
 On and on, beneath the dewy darkness, they fled
 
 The Argonauts 37 j 
 
 wiftly down the swirling stream; underneath black 
 walls, and temples, and the castles of the princes of the 
 East; past sluice mouths, and fragrant gardens, and 
 groves of all strange fruits; past marshes where fat kine 
 lay sleeping, and long beds of whispering reeds; till 
 they heard the merry music of the surge upon the bar, 
 as it tumbled in the moonlight all alone. 
 
 Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leapt the breakers 
 like a horse; for she knew the time was come to show 
 her mettle, and win honour for the heroes and herself. 
 
 Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leapt the break- 
 ers like a horse, till the heroes stopped all panting, each 
 man upon his oar, as she slid into the still broad sea. 
 
 Then Orpheus took his harp and sang a paean, till 
 the heroes' hearts rose high again; and they rowed on 
 stoutly and steadfastly, away into the darkness of the 
 West. 
 
 PART V 
 
 How the Argonauts Were Driven into the Unknown Sea 
 
 So they fled away in haste to the westward: but Aietes 
 manned his fleet and followed them. And Lynceus the 
 quick eyed saw him coming, while he was still many a 
 mile away, and cried: "I see a hundred ships, like a flock 
 of white swans, far in the east." And at that they rowed 
 hard, like heroes ; but the ships came nearer every hour. 
 
 Then Medeia, the dark witch maiden, laid a cruel 
 and a cunning plot; for she killed Absyrtus her young 
 brother, and cast him into the sea, and said: "Ere my 
 father can take up his corpse and bury it, he must wait 
 Jong, and be left, far behind."
 
 272 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 And all the heroes shuddered, and looked one at the 
 other for shame; yet they did not punish that dark 
 witch woman, because she had won for them the golden 
 fleece. 
 
 And when Aietes came to the place, he saw the float- 
 ing corpse; and he stopped a long while, and bewailed 
 his son, and took him up, and went home. But he sent 
 on his sailors toward the westward, and bound them by 
 a mighty curse: "Bring back to me that dark witch 
 woman, that she may die a dreadful death. But if you 
 return without her, you shall die by the same death 
 yourselves." 
 
 So the Argonauts escaped for that time; but Father 
 Zeus saw that foul crime; and out of the heavens he sent 
 a storm, and swept the ship far from her course. Day 
 after day the storm drove her, amid foam and blinding 
 mist, till they knew no longer where they were, for the 
 sun was blotted from the skies. And at last the ship 
 struck on a shoal, amid low isles of mud and sand, and 
 the waves rolled over her and through her, and the heroes 
 lost all hope of life. 
 
 Then Jason cried to Hera: "Fair queen, who hast 
 befriended us till now, why hast thou left us in our misery, 
 to die here among unknown seas ? It is hard to lose the 
 honour which we have won with such toil and danger, 
 and hard never to see Hellas again, and the pleasant bay 
 of Pagasai." 
 
 Then out and spoke the magic bough which stood 
 upon the Argo's beak: "Because Father Zeus is angry ^ 
 all this has fallen on you; for a cruel crime has been 
 done on board, and the sacred ship is foul with blood." 
 
 At that some of the heroes cried: "Medeia is the 
 murderess. Let the witch woman bear her sin, and die' w
 
 The Argonauts 273 
 
 And they seized Medeia, to hurl her into the sea and 
 atone for the young boy's death; but the magic bough 
 spoke again: "Let her live till her crimes are full. 
 Vengeance waits for her, slow and sure; but she must 
 live, for you need her still. She must show you the way 
 to her sister Circe, who lives among the islands of the 
 West. To her you must sail, a weary way, and she shall 
 cleanse you from your guilt." 
 
 Then all the heroes wept aloud when they heard the 
 sentence of the oak; for they knew that a dark journey 
 lay before them, and years of bitter toil. And some 
 upbraided the dark witch woman, and some said : " Nay, 
 we are her debtors still; without her we should never 
 have won the fleece." But most of them bit their lips 
 in silence, for they feared the witch's spells. 
 
 And now the sea grew calmer, and the sun shone out 
 once more, and the heroes thrust the ship off the sand 
 bank, and rowed forward on their weary course, under 
 the guiding of the dark witch maiden, into the wastes of 
 the unknown sea. 
 
 Whither they went I cannot tell, nor how they came 
 to Circe's isle. Some say that they went to the west- 
 ward, and up the Ister* stream, and so came into the 
 Adriatic, dragging their ship over the snowy Alps. And 
 others say that they went southward, into the Red Indian 
 Sea, and past the sunny lands where spices grow, round 
 ^Ethiopia toward the west; and that at last they came 
 to Libya, and dragged their ship across the burning 
 sands, and over the hills into the Syrtes, where the flats 
 and quicksands spread for many a mile, between rich 
 Cyrene and the Lotus-eaters' shore. But all these are 
 but dreams and fables, and dim hints of unknown lands. 
 
 *The Danube.
 
 74 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 But all say that they came to a place where they had 
 to drag their ship across the land nine days with ropes 
 and rollers, till they came into an unknown sea. And 
 the best of all the old songs tells us, how they went away 
 toward the north, till they came to the slope of Caucasus, 
 where it sinks into the sea; and to the narrow Cimmerian 
 Bosphorus,* where the Titan swam across upon the bull; 
 and thence into the lazy waters of the still Masotid Lake.f 
 And thence they went northward ever, up the Tanais, 
 which we call Don, past the Geloni and Sauromatai, 
 and many a wandering shepherd tribe, and the one-eyed 
 Arimaspi, of whom old Greek poets tell, who steal the 
 gold from the Griffins, in the cold RhiphaianJ hills. 
 
 And they passed the Scythian archers, and the Tauri 
 who eat men, and the wandering Hyperboreai, who feed 
 their flocks beneath the pole star, until they came 
 into the northern ocean, the dull dead Cronian Sea. 
 And there Argo would move on no longer; and each 
 man clasped his elbow, and leaned his head upon his 
 hand, heartbroken with toil and hunger, and gave him- 
 self up to death. But brave Ancaios the helmsman 
 cheered up their hearts once more, and bade them leap 
 on land, and haul the ship with ropes and rollers for 
 many a weary day, whether over land, or mud, or ice, 
 I know not, for the song is mixed and broken like a dream. 
 And it says next, how they came to the rich nation of 
 the famous long-lived men; and to the coast of the 
 Cimmerians, who never saw the sun, buried deep in the 
 glens of the snow mountains; and to the fair land of 
 
 * Between the Crimxa and Circassia. 
 f The Sea of AZOT. 
 I The Ural Mountains. 
 J The Baltic.
 
 The Argonauts 975 
 
 Hennione, where dwelt the most righteous of all nations; 
 and to the gates of the world below, and to the dwelling 
 place of dreams. 
 
 And at last Ancaios shouted: "Endure a little while, 
 brave friends, the worst is surely past; for I can see the 
 pure west wind ruffle the water, and hear the roar of 
 ocean on the sands. So raise up the mast, and set the 
 sail, and face what conies like men." 
 
 Then out spoke the magic bough: "Ah, would that 
 I had perished long ago, and been whelmed by the dread 
 blue rocks, beneath the fierce swell of the Euxine! Better 
 so, than to wander forever, disgraced by the guilt of my 
 princes; for the blood of Absyrtus still tracks me, and 
 woe follows hard upon woe. And now some dark horror 
 will clutch me, if I come near the Isle of lerne.* Unless 
 you will cling to the land, and sail southward and south- 
 ward forever, I shall wander beyond the Atlantic, to the 
 ocean which has no shore." 
 
 Then they blest the magic bough, and sailed south- 
 ward along the land. But ere they could pass lerne, 
 the land of mists and storms, the wild wind came down, 
 dark and roaring, and caught the sail, and strained the 
 ropes. And away they drove twelve nights, on the wide 
 wild western sea, through the foam, and over the rollers, 
 while they saw neither sun nor stars. And they cried 
 again: "We shall perish, for we know not where we 
 are. We are lost in the dreary damp darkness, and 
 cannot tell north from south." 
 
 But Lynceus the long sighted called gayly from the 
 bows: "Take heart again, brave sailors; for I see a 
 pine-clad isle, and the halls of the kind Earth mother, 
 with a crown of clouds around them." 
 
 * Britain.
 
 276 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 But Orpheus said: "Turn from them, for no living 
 man can land there: there is no harbour on the coast, 
 but steep-walled cliffs all round." 
 
 So Ancaios turned the ship away; and for three days 
 more they sailed on, till they came to Aiaia, Circe's 
 home, and the fairy island of the West. 
 
 And there Jason bid them land, and seek about for any 
 sign of living man. And as they went inland, Circe met 
 them, coming down toward the ship; and they trembled 
 when they saw her; for her hair, and face, and robes, 
 shone like flame. 
 
 And she came and looked at Medeia; and Medeia hid 
 her face beneath her veil. 
 
 And Circe cried, "Ah, wretched girl, have you forgotten 
 all your sins, that you come hither to my island, where the 
 flowers bloom all the year round? Where is your aged 
 father, and the brother whom you killed? Little do I 
 expect you to return in safety with these strangers whom 
 you love. I will send you food and wine: but your ship 
 must not stay here, for it is foul with sin, and foul with sin 
 its crew." 
 
 And the heroes prayed her, but in vain, and cried, 
 "Cleanse us from our guilt!" But she sent them away 
 and said, "Go on to Malea, and there you may be 
 cleansed, and return home." 
 
 Then a fair wind rose, and they sailed eastward, by 
 Tartessus on the Iberian shore, till they came to the 
 Pillars of Hercules, and the Mediterranean Sea. And 
 thence they sailed on through the deeps of Sardinia, and 
 past the Ausonian Islands, and the capes of the Tyrrhenian 
 shore, till they came to a flowery island, upon a still, bright 
 summer's eve. And as they neared it, slowly and wearily, 
 they heard sweet songs upon the shore. But when
 
 The Argonauts 277 
 
 Medeia heard it, she started, and cried: "Beware, all 
 heroes, for these are the rocks of the Sirens. You must 
 pass close by them, for there is no other channel; but 
 those who listen to that song are lost." 
 
 Then Orpheus spoke, the king of all minstrels: "Let 
 them match their song against mine. I have charmed 
 stones, and trees, and dragons, how much more the hearts 
 of man!" So he caught up his lyre, and stood upon the 
 poop, and began his magic song. 
 
 And now they could see the Sirens, on Anthemousa, the 
 flowery isle; three fair maidens sitting on the beach, 
 beneath a red rock in the setting sun, among beds of crim- 
 son poppies and golden asphodel. Slowly they sung and 
 sleepily, with silver voices, mild and clear, which stole over 
 the golden waters, and into the hearts of all the heroes, in 
 spite of Orpheus's song. 
 
 And all things stayed around and listened; the gulls 
 sat in white lines along the rocks; on the beach great 
 seals lay basking, and kept time with lazy heads; while 
 silver shoals of fish came up to hearken, and whispered as 
 they broke the shining calm. The Wind overhead hushed 
 his whistling, as he shepherded his clouds toward the 
 west; and the clouds stood in mid blue, and listened 
 dreaming, like a flock of golden sheep. 
 
 And as the heroes listened, the oars fell from their 
 hands, and their heads drooped on their breasts, and they 
 closed their heavy eyes ; and they dreamed of bright still 
 gardens, and of slumbers under murmuring pines, till all 
 their toil seemed foolishness, and they thought of their 
 renown no more. 
 
 Then one lifted his head suddenly, and cried, "What 
 use in wandering forever? Let us stay here and rest 
 awhile." And another, "Let us row to the shore, and
 
 278 Mytlis Every Child Sliould Know 
 
 hear the words they sing." And another, "I care not 
 for the words, but for the music. They shall sing me to 
 sleep, that I may rest." 
 
 And Butes, the son of Pandion, the fairest of all mortal 
 men, leapt out and swam toward the shore, crying, "I 
 come, I come, fair maidens, to live and die here, listening 
 to your song." 
 
 Then Medeia clapped her hands together, and cried, 
 "Sing louder, Orpheus, sing a bolder strain; wake up 
 these hapless sluggards, or none of them will see the land 
 of Hellas more." 
 
 Then Orpheus lifted his harp, and crashed his cunning 
 hand across the strings ; and his music and his voice rose 
 like a trumpet through the still evening air; into the air 
 it rushed like thunder, till the rocks rang and the sea; 
 and into their souls it rushed like wine, till all hearts beat 
 fast within their breasts. 
 
 And he sung the song of Perseus, how the Gods led 
 him over land and sea, and how he slew the loathly Gor- 
 gon, and won himself a peerless bride; and how he sits 
 now with the Gods upon Olympus, a shining star in the 
 sky, immortal with his immortal bride, and honoured 
 by all men below. 
 
 So Orpheus sang, and the Sirens, answering each other 
 across the golden sea, till Orpheus's voice drowned the 
 Sirens, and the heroes caught their oars again. 
 
 And they cried: "We will be men like Perseus, and we 
 will dare and suffer to the last. Sing us his song again, brave 
 Orpheus, that we may forget the Sirens and their spell." 
 
 And as Orpheus sang, they dashed their oars into the 
 sea, and kept time to his music, as they fled fast away; 
 and the Sirens' voices died behind them, in the hissing 
 of the foam along their wake.
 
 The Argonauts 979 
 
 But Butes swam to the shore, and knelt down before 
 the Sirens, and cried, "Sing on! sing on!" But he could 
 say no more; for a charmed sleep came over him, and a 
 pleasant humming in his ears; and he sank all along upon 
 the pebbles, and forgot all heaven and earth, and never 
 looked at that sad beach around him, all strewn with the 
 bones of men. 
 
 Then slowly rose up those three fair sisters, with a cruel 
 smile upon their lips; and slowly they crept down toward 
 him, like leopards who creep upon their prey; and their 
 hands were like the talons of eagles, as they stept across 
 the bones of their victims to enjoy their cruel feast. 
 
 But fairest Aphrodite saw him from the highest Idalian 
 peak, and she pitied his youth and his beauty, and leapt up 
 from her golden throne; and like a falling star she cleft 
 the sky, and left a trail of glittering light, till she stooped 
 to the Isle of the Sirens, and snatched their prey from their 
 claws. And she lifted Butes as he lay sleeping, and wrapt 
 him in a golden mist; and she bore him to the peak of 
 Lilybacum; and he slept there many a pleasant year. 
 
 But when the Sirens saw that they were conquered, 
 they shrieked for envy and rage, and leapt from the beach 
 into the sea, and were changed into rocks until this day. 
 
 Then they came to the straits by Lilybaeum, and saw 
 Sicily, the three-cornered island, under which Enceladus 
 the giant lies groaning day and night, and when he turns 
 the earth quakes, and his breath bursts out in roaring 
 flames from the highest cone of ^Etna, above the chestnut 
 woods. And there Charybdis caught them in its fearful 
 coils of wave, and rolled mast-high about them, and spun 
 them round and round; and they could go neither back 
 nor forward, while the whirlpool sucked them in. 
 
 And while they struggled they saw near them, on the
 
 280 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 other side of the strait, a rock stand in the water, with a 
 peak wrapt round in clouds; a rock which no man could 
 climb, though he had twenty hands and feet, for the stone 
 was smooth and slippery, as if polished by man's hand; 
 and half way up a misty cave looked out toward the west. 
 
 And when Orpheus saw it, he groaned, and struck his 
 hands together. And " Little will it help to us," he cried, 
 "to escape the jaws of the whirlpool; for in that cave 
 lives Scylla, the sea-hag with a young whelp's voice; my 
 mother warned me of her ere we sailed away from Hellas ; 
 she has six heads, and six long necks, and hides in that 
 dark cleft. And from her cave she fishes for all things 
 which pass by, for sharks, and seals, and dolphins, and all 
 the herds of Amphitrite. And never ship's crew boasted 
 that they came safe by her rock; for she bends her long 
 necks down to them, and every mouth takes up a man. 
 And who will help us now ? For Hera and Zeus hate us, 
 and our ship is foul with guilt ; so we must die, whatever 
 befalls." 
 
 Then out of the depths came Thetis, Peleus's silver- 
 footed bride, for love of her gallant husband, and all her 
 nymphs around her; and they played like snow-white 
 dolphins, diving on from wave to wave, before the ship, 
 and in her wake, and beside her, as dolphins play. And 
 they caught the ship, and guided her, and passed her on 
 from hand to hand, and tossed her through the billows, 
 as maidens toss the ball. And when Scylla stooped to 
 seize her, they struck back her ravening heads, and foul 
 Scylla whined, as a whelp whines, at the touch of their 
 gentle hands. But she shrank into her cave affrighted; 
 for all bad things shrink from good ; and Argo leapt safe 
 past her, while a fair breeze rose behind. Then Thetis 
 and her nymphs sank down to their gardens of green and
 
 The Argonauts 281 
 
 purple, where live flowers of bloom all the year round; 
 while the heroes went on rejoicing, yet dreading what 
 might come next. 
 
 After that they rowed on steadily for many a weary day, 
 till they saw a long high island, and beyond it a mountain 
 land. And they searched till they found a harbour, and 
 there rowed boldly in. But after awhile they stopped, 
 and wondered; for there stood a great city on the shore, 
 and temples and walls and gardens, and castles high in 
 air upon the cliffs. And on either side they saw a 
 harbour, with a narrow mouth, but wide within; and 
 black ships without number, high and dry upon the 
 shore. 
 
 Then Ancaius, the wise helmsman, spoke: "What new 
 wonder is this ? I know all isles, and harbours, and the 
 windings of all the seas; and this should be Corcyra, 
 where a few wild goatherds dwell. But whence come 
 these new harbours, and vast works of polished stone?" 
 
 But Jason said: "They can be no savage people. We 
 will go in and take our chance." 
 
 So they rowed into the harbour, among a thousand 
 black-beaked ships, each larger far than Argo, toward a 
 quay of polished stone. And they wondered at that 
 mighty city, with its roofs of burnished brass, and long 
 and lofty walls of marble, with strong palisades above. 
 And the quays were full of people, merchants, and 
 mariners, and slaves, going to and fro with merchandise 
 among the crowd of ships. And the heroes' hearts were 
 humbled, and they looked at each other and said: "We 
 thought ourselves a gallant crew when we sailed from 
 lolcos by the sea; but how small we look before this city, 
 like an ant before a hive of bees." 
 
 Then the sailors hailed them roughly from the quay;
 
 1 8a Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "What men are you? we want no strangers here, nor 
 pirates. We keep our business to ourselves." 
 
 But Jason answered gently, with many a flattering 
 word, and praised their city and their harbour, and their 
 fleet of gallant ships. "Surely you are the children of 
 Poseidon, and the masters of the sea; and we are but poor 
 wandering mariners, worn out with thirst and toil. Give 
 us but food and water, and we will go on our voyage in 
 peace." 
 
 Then the sailors laughed and answered: "Stranger, 
 you are no fool; you talk like an honest man, and you 
 shall find us honest too. We are the children of Poseidon, 
 and the masters of the sea; but come ashore to us, and 
 you shall have the best that we can give." 
 
 So they limped ashore, all stiff and weary, with long 
 ragged beards and sunburnt cheeks, and garments torn 
 and weather-stained, and weapons rusted with the spray, 
 while the sailors laughed at them (for they were rough- 
 tongued, though their hearts were frank and kind). And 
 one said: "These fellows are but raw sailors; they look 
 as if they had been sea-sick all the day." And another: 
 "Their legs have grown crooked with much rowing, till 
 they waddle in their walk like ducks." 
 
 At that Idas the rash would have struck them; but 
 Jason held him back, till one of the merchant kings spoke 
 to them, a tall and stately man. 
 
 "Do not be angry, strangers; the sailor boys must have 
 their jest. But we will treat you justly and kindly, for 
 strangers and poor men come from God; and you seem 
 no common sailors by your strength, and height, and 
 weapons. Come up with me to the palace of Alcinous, 
 the rich sea-going king, and we will feast you well and 
 heartily; and after that you shall tell us your name."
 
 The Argonauts 983 
 
 But Medeia hung back, and trembled, and whispered 
 in Jason's ear, "We are betrayed, and are going to our 
 ruin; for I see my countrymen among the crowd; dark- 
 eyed Colchi in steel mail shirts, such as they wear in my 
 father's land." 
 
 "It is too late to turn," said Jason. And he spoke to 
 the merchant king: "What country is this, good sir; and 
 what is this new-built town?" 
 
 "This is the land of the Phaeaces, beloved by all the 
 Immortals; for they come hither and feast like friends 
 with us, and sit by our side in the hall. Hither we 
 came from Liburnia to escape the unrighteous Cyclopes; 
 for they robbed us, peaceful merchants, of our hard- 
 earned wares and wealth. So Nausithous, the son of 
 Poseidon, brought us hither, and died in peace; and now 
 his son Alcinous rules us, and Arete the wisest of queens." 
 
 So they went up across the square, and wondered still 
 more as they went ; for along the quays lay in order great 
 cables, and yards, and masts, before the fair temple of 
 Poseidon, the blue-haired king of the seas. And round 
 the square worked the shipwrights, as many in number 
 as ants, twining ropes, and hewing timber, and smoothing 
 long yards and oars. And the Minuai went on in silence 
 through clean white marble streets, till they came to the 
 hall of Alcinous, and they wondered then still more. 
 For the lofty palace shone aloft in the sun, with walls of 
 plated brass, from the threshold to the innermost cham- 
 ber, and the doors were of silver and gold. And on each 
 side of the doorway sat living dogs of gold, who never 
 grew old or died, so well Hephaistus had made them in 
 his forges in smoking Lemnos, and gave them to Alcinous 
 to guard his gates by night. And within, against the 
 walls, stood thrones on either side, down the whole
 
 284 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 length of the hall, strewn with rich glossy shawls; and on 
 them the merchant kings of those crafty sea-roving 
 Phaeaces sat eating and drinking in pride, and feasting 
 there all the year round. And boys of molten gold stood 
 each on a polished altar, and held torches in their hands, to 
 give light all night to the guests. And round the house 
 sat fifty maid servants, some grinding the meal in the mill, 
 some turning the spindle, some weaving at the loom, while 
 their hands twinkled as they passed the shuttle, like 
 quivering aspen leaves. 
 
 And outside before the palace a great garden was 
 walled round, filled full of stately fruit trees, with olives 
 and sweet figs, and pomegranates, pears, and apples, 
 which bore the whole year round. For the rich south- 
 west wind fed them, till pear grew ripe on pear, fig on 
 fig, and grape on grape, all the winter and the spring. 
 And at the further end gay flower beds bloomed through 
 all seasons of the year; and two fair fountains rose, and 
 ran, one through the garden grounds, and one beneath 
 the palace gate, to water all the town. Such noble 
 gifts the heavens had given to Alcinous the wise. 
 
 So they went in, and saw him sitting, like Poseidon, on 
 his throne, with his golden sceptre by him, in garments 
 stiff with gold, and in his hand a sculptured goblet, as 
 he pledged the merchant kings; and beside him stood 
 Arete, his wise and lovely queen, and leaned against a 
 pillar, as she spun her golden threads. 
 
 Then Alcinous rose, and welcomed them, and bade 
 them sit and eat; and the servants brought them tables, 
 and bread, and meat, and wine. 
 
 But Medeia went on trembling toward Arete, the fair 
 queen, and fell at her knees, and clasped them, and cried 
 weeping as she knelt:
 
 The Argonauts 285 
 
 "I am your guest, fair queen, and I entreat you be 
 Zeus from whom prayers come. Do not send me back 
 to my father, to die some dreadful death; but let me 
 go my way, and bear my burden. Have I not had 
 enough of punishment and shame ? " 
 
 "Who are you, strange maiden? and what is the mean- 
 ing of your prayer ? " 
 
 "I am Medeia, daughter of Aietes, and I saw my 
 countrymen here to-day; and I know that they are come 
 to find me, and take me home to die some dreadful 
 death." 
 
 Then Arete frowned, and said: "Lead this girl in, 
 my maidens; and let the kings decide, not I." 
 
 And Alcinous leapt up from his throne, and cried, 
 "Speak, strangers, who are you? And who is this 
 maiden?" 
 
 "We are the heroes of the Minuai," said Jason; "and 
 this maiden has spoken truth. We are the men who took 
 the golden fleece, the men whose fame has run round 
 every shore. We came hither out of the ocean, after 
 sorrows such as man never saw before. We went out 
 many, and come back few, for many a noble comrade 
 have we lost. So let us go, as you should let your guests 
 go, in peace; that the world may say, 'Alcinous is a just 
 king.'" 
 
 But Alcinous frowned, and stood deep in thought; and 
 at last he spoke: 
 
 "Had not the deed been done, which is done, I should 
 have said this day to myself, ' It is an honour to Alcinous, 
 and to his children after him, that the far-famed Argonauts 
 are his guests.' But these Colchi are my guests, as you 
 are; and for this month they have waited here with all 
 their fleet; for they have hunted all the seas of Hellas,
 
 a86 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 and could not find you, and dared neither go further, 
 nor go home." 
 
 "Let them choose out their champions, and we will 
 fight them, man for man." 
 
 "No guest of ours shall fight upon our island; and if 
 you go outside, they will outnumber you. I will do 
 justice between you; for I know and do what is right." 
 
 Then he turned to his kings, and said: "This may 
 stand over till to-morrow. To-night we will feast our 
 guests, and hear the story of all their wanderings, and how 
 they came hither out of the ocean." 
 
 So Alcinous bade the servants take the heroes in, and 
 bathe them, and give them clothes. And they were glad 
 when they saw the warm water, for it was long since 
 they had bathed. And they washed off the sea salt 
 from their limbs, and anointed themselves from head to 
 foot with oil, and combed out their golden hair. Then 
 they came back again into the hall, while the merchant 
 kings rose up to do them honour. And each man said 
 to his neighbour: "No wonder that these men won 
 fame. How they stand now like Giants, or Titans, or 
 Immortals come down from Olympus, though many a 
 winter has worn them, and many a fearful storm. What 
 must they have been when they sailed from lolcos, in the 
 bloom of their youth, long ago?" 
 
 Then they went out to the garden; and the merchant 
 princes said: "Heroes, run races with us. Let us see 
 whose feet are nimblest." 
 
 "We cannot race against you, for our limbs ait stiff 
 from sea; and we have lost our two swift comrades, the 
 sons of the north wind. But do not think us cowards; if 
 you wish to try our strength, we will shoot and box, and 
 wrestle, against any men on earth,"
 
 The Argonauts 387 
 
 And Alcinous smiled, and answered: "I believe you. 
 gallant guests; with your long limbs and broad shoulders, 
 we could never match you here. For we care nothing 
 here for boxing, or for shooting with the bow; but for 
 feasts, and songs, and harping, and dancing, and running 
 races, to stretch our limbs on shore." 
 
 So they danced there and ran races, the jolly merchant 
 kings, till the night fell, and all went in. 
 
 And then they ate and drank, and comforted their 
 weary souls, till Alcinous called a herald, and bade him 
 go and fetch the harper. 
 
 The herald went out, and fetched the harper, and led 
 him in by the hand ; and Alcinous cut him a piece of meat 
 from the fattest of the haunch, and sent it to him, and 
 said: "Sing to us, noble harper, and rejoice the heroes' 
 hearts." 
 
 So the harper played and sang, while the dancers 
 danced strange figures; and after that the tumblers 
 showed their tricks, till the heroes laughed again. 
 
 Then, "Tell me, heroes," asked Alcinous, "you who 
 have sailed the ocean round, and seen the manners of all 
 nations, have you seen such dancers as ours here ? or heard 
 such music and such singing? We hold ours to be the 
 best on earth." 
 
 "Such dancing we have never seen," said Orpheus; 
 "and your singer is a happy man; for Phoebus himself 
 must have taught him, or else he is the son of a Muse ; as 
 I am also, and have sung once or twice, though not so 
 well as he." 
 
 "Sing to us, then, noble stranger," said Alcinous; 
 "and we will give you precious gifts." 
 
 So Orpheus took his magic harp, and sang to them a 
 stirring song of their voyage from lolcos, and their
 
 288 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 dangers, and how they won the golden fleece; and of 
 Medeia's love, and how she helped them, and went 
 with them over land and sea; and of all their fearful 
 dangers, from monsters, and rocks, and storms, till the 
 heart of Arete was softened, and all the women wept. 
 And the merchant kings rose up, each man from off 
 his golden throne, and clasped their hands, and shouted: 
 "Hail to the noble Argonauts, who sailed the unknown 
 sea!" 
 
 Then he went on, and told their journey over the 
 sluggish northern main, and through the shoreless outer 
 ocean, to the fairy island of the West; and of the Sirens, 
 and Scylla, and Charybdis, and all the wonders they 
 had seen, till midnight passed, and the day dawned; 
 but the kings never thought of sleep. Each man sat still 
 and listened, with his chin upon his hand. 
 
 And at last when Orpheus had ended, they all went 
 thoughtful out, and the heroes lay down to sleep, beneath 
 the sounding porch outside, where Arete had strewn them 
 rugs and carpets, in the sweet still summer night. 
 
 But Arete pleaded hard with her husband for Medeia, 
 for her heart was softened. And she said: "The Gods 
 will punish her, not we. After all, she is our guest and 
 my suppliant, and prayers are the daughters of Zeus. 
 And who, too, dare part man and wife, after all they 
 have endured together?" 
 
 And Alcinous smiled. "The minstrel's song has 
 charmed you; but I must remember what is right; for 
 songs cannot alter justice; and I must be faithful to my 
 name. Alcinous I am called, the man of sturdy sense, 
 and Alcinous I will be." But for all that, Arete besought 
 him, until she won him round. 
 
 So next morning he sent a herald, and called the kings
 
 The Argonauts 289 
 
 into the square, and said: "This is a puzzling matter; 
 remember but one thing. These Minuai live close by 
 us, and we may meet them often on the seas; but Aietes 
 lives afar off, and we have only heard his name. Which, 
 then, of the two is it safer to offend, the men near us, or 
 the men far off?" 
 
 The princes laughed, and praised his wisdom; and 
 Alcinous called the heroes to the square, and the Colchi 
 also; and they came and stood opposite each other; but 
 Medeia stayed in the palace. Then Alcinous spoke: 
 "Heroes of the Colchi, what is your errand about this 
 lady?" 
 
 "To carry her home with us, that she may die a 
 shameful death; but if we return without her, we must 
 die the death she should have died." 
 
 "What say you to this, Jason the ^Eolid?" said 
 Alcinous, turning to the Minuai. 
 
 "I say," said the cunning Jason, "that they are come 
 here on a bootless errand. Do you think that you can 
 make her follow you, heroes of the Colchi? her, who 
 knows all spells and charms? She will cast away your 
 ships on quicksands, or call down on you Brimo the wild 
 huntress; or the chains will fall from off her wrists, and 
 she will escape in her dragon car; or if not thus, some 
 other way; for she has a thousand plans and wiles. And 
 why return home at all, brave heroes, and face the long 
 seas again, and the Bosphorus, and the stormy Euxine, 
 and double all your toil? There is many a fair land 
 round these coasts, which waits for gallant men like you. 
 Better to settle there, and build a city, and let Aietes and 
 Colchis help themselves." 
 
 Then a murmur rose among the Colchi, and some 
 cried, "He has spoken well"; and some, "We have had
 
 390 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 enough of roving, we will sail the seas no more!" And 
 the chief said at last, "Be it so, then; a plague she has 
 been to us, and a plague to the house of her father, and a 
 plague she will be to you. Take her, since you are no 
 wiser; and we will sail away toward the north." 
 
 Then Alcinous gave them food, and water, and 
 garments, and rich presents of all sorts; and he gave 
 the same to the Minuai, and sent them all away in peace. 
 
 So Jason kept the dark witch maiden to breed him 
 woe and shame; and the Colchi went northward into the 
 Adriatic, and settled, and built towns along the shore. 
 
 Then the heroes rowed away to the eastward, to reach 
 Hellas their beloved land; but a storm came down upon 
 them, and swept them far away toward the south. 
 And they rowed till they were spent with struggling, 
 through the darkness and the blinding rain, but where 
 they were they could not tell, and they gave up all hope 
 of life. And at last they touched the ground, and when 
 daylight came they waded to the shore; and saw nothing 
 round but sand, and desolate salt pools; for they had 
 come to the quicksands of the Syrtis, and the dreary 
 treeless flats, which lie between Numidia and Cyrene, on 
 the burning shore of Africa. And there they wandered 
 starving for many a weary day, ere they could launch 
 their ship again, and gain the open sea. And there 
 Canthus was killed while he was trying to drive off sheep, 
 by a stone which a herdsman threw. 
 
 And there, too, Mopsus died, the seer who knew the 
 voices of all birds; but he could not foretell his own end, 
 for he was bitten in the foot by a snake, one of those 
 which sprang from the Gorgon's head when Perseus 
 carried it across the sands. 
 
 At last they rowed away toward the northward, for
 
 The Argonauts 191 
 
 many a weary day, till their water was spent, and their 
 food eaten; and they were worn out with hunger and 
 thirst. But at last they saw a long steep island, and a 
 blue peak high among the clouds; and they knew it for 
 the peak of Ida, and the famous land of Crete. And 
 they said, "We will land in Crete, and see Minos the just 
 king, and all his glory and his wealth; at least he will 
 treat us hospitably, and let us fill our water casks upon the 
 shore." 
 
 But when they came nearer to the island they saw a 
 wondrous sight upon the cliffs. For on a cape to the 
 westward stood a giant, taller than any mountain pine; 
 who glittered aloft against the sky like a tower of burnished 
 brass. He turned and looked on all sides round him, 
 till he saw the Argo and her crew; and when he saw 
 them he came toward them, more swiftly than the swiftest 
 horse, leaping across the glens at a bound, and striding 
 at one step from down to down. And when he came 
 abreast of them he brandished his arms up and down, as a 
 ship hoists and lowers her yards, and shouted with his 
 brazen throat like a trumpet from off the hills: "You 
 are pirates, you are robbers! If you dare land here, you 
 die." 
 
 Then the heroes cried: "We are no pirates. We 
 are all good men and true; and all we ask is food and 
 water"; but the giant cried the more 
 
 "You are robbers, you are pirates all; I know you; 
 and if you Jand, you shall die the death." 
 
 Then he waved his arms again as a signal, and they 
 saw the people flying inland, driving their flocks before 
 them, while a great flame arose among the hills. Then 
 the giant ran up a valley and vanished; and ihe heroes 
 lay on their oars in fear.
 
 zga Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 But Medeia stood watching all, from under her steep 
 black brows, with a cunning smile upon her lips, and a 
 cunning plot within her heart. At last she spoke; 
 "I know this giant. I heard of him in the East. Hepha- 
 istos the Fire King made him, in his forge in ^Etna 
 beneath the earth, and called him Talus, and gave him 
 to Minos for a servant, to guard the coast of Crete. 
 Thrice a day he walks round the island, and never stops 
 to sleep; and if strangers land he leaps into his furnace, 
 which flames there among the hills; and when he is 
 red hot he rushes on them, and burns them in his brazen 
 hands." 
 
 Then aH the heroes cried, "What shall we do, wise 
 Medeia? We must have water, or we die of thirst. 
 Flesh and blood we can face fairly; but who can face this 
 red-hot brass?" 
 
 "I can face red-hot brass, if the tale I hear be true. 
 For they say that he has but one vein in all his body, filled 
 with liquid fire; and that this vein is closed with a nail; 
 but I know not where that nail is placed. But if I can 
 get it once into these hands, you shall water your ship 
 here in peace." 
 
 Then she bade them put her on shore, and row off 
 again, and wait what would befall. 
 
 And the heroes obeyed her unwillingly; for they were 
 ashamed to leave her so alone; but Jason said, "She is 
 dearer to me than to any of you, yet I will trust her freely 
 on shore; she has more plots than we can dream of, in 
 the windings of that fair and cunning head." 
 
 So they left the witch maiden on the shore; and she 
 stood there in her beauty all alone, till the giant strode 
 back red hot from head to heel, while the grass hissed 
 and smoked beneath his tread.
 
 The Argonauts 293 
 
 And when he saw the maiden alone, he stopped; and 
 she looked boldly up into his face without moving, and 
 began her magic song: 
 
 "Life is short, though life is sweet; and even men of 
 brass and fire must die. The brass must rust, the fire 
 must cool, for time gnaws all things in their turn. Life is 
 short, though life is sweet; but sweeter to live forever; 
 sweeter to live ever youthful like the Gods, who have 
 ichor in their veins; ichor which gives life, and youth, 
 and joy, and a bounding heart." 
 
 Then Talus said, "Who are you, strange maiden; and 
 where is this ichor of youth?" 
 
 Then Medeia held up a flask of crystal, and said, 
 "Here is the ichor of youth. I am Medeia the en- 
 chantress ; my sister Circe gave me this, and said, ' Go and 
 reward Talus the faithful servant, for his fame is gone 
 out into all lands.' So come, and I will pour this into 
 your veins, that you may live forever young." 
 
 And he listened to her false words, that simple Talus, 
 and came near ; and Medeia said, " Dip yourself in the sea 
 first, and cool yourself, lest you burn my tender hands, 
 then show me where the nail in your vein is, that I may 
 pour the ichor in." 
 
 Then that simple Talus dipped himself in the sea, till 
 it hissed, and roared, and smoked; and came and knelt 
 before Medeia, and showed her the secret nail. 
 
 And she drew the nail out gently; but she poured no 
 ichor in; and instead the liquid fire spouted forth, like 
 a stream of red-hot iron. And Talus tried to leap up, 
 crying, "You have betrayed me, false witch maiden 1" 
 But she lifted up her hands before him, and sang, till he 
 sank beneath her spell. And as he sank, his brazen 
 limbs clanked heavily, and the earth groaned beneath
 
 294 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 his weight; and the liquid fire ran from his heel, like a 
 stream of lava to the sea; and Medeia laughed, and 
 called to the heroes, "Come ashore, and water your 
 ship hi peace." 
 
 So they came, and found the giant lying dead; and 
 they fell down, and kissed Medeia 's feet; and watered 
 their ship, and took sheep and oxen, and so left that 
 inhospitable shore. 
 
 At last, after many more adventures, they came to 
 the Cape of Malea, at the southwest point of the Pelo- 
 ponnese. And there they offered sacrifices, and Orpheus 
 purged them from their guilt. Then they rowed away 
 again to the northward, past the Laconian shore, and 
 came all worn and tired by Sunium, and up the long 
 Euboean Strait, until they saw once more Pelion, and 
 Aphetai, and lolcos by the sea. 
 
 And they ran the ship ashore; but they had no strength 
 left to haul her up the beach; and they crawled out on 
 the pebbles, and sat down, and wept till they could weep 
 no more. For the houses and the trees were ail altered; 
 and all the faces which they saw were strange; and their 
 joy was swallowed up in sorrow, while they thought of 
 their youth, and all their labour, and the gallant com- 
 rades they had lost. 
 
 And the people crowded round, and asked them, 
 "Who are you, that you sit weeping here?" 
 
 "We are the sons of your princes, who sailed out 
 many a year ago. We went to fetch the golden fleece; 
 and we have brought it, and grief therewith. Give us 
 news of our fathers and our mothers, if any of them be 
 Ittft alive on earth." 
 
 Then there was shouting and laughing, and weeping; 
 and all the kings came to the shore, and they led away
 
 The Argonauts 295 
 
 the heroes to their homes, and bewailed the valiant 
 dead. 
 
 Then Jason went up with Medeia to the palace of his 
 uncle Pelias. And when he came in, Pelias sat by the 
 hearth, crippled and blind with age; while opposite him 
 sat ^Eson, Jason's father, crippled and blind likewise; 
 and the two old men's heads shook together, as they 
 tried to warm themselves before the fire. 
 
 And Jason fell down at his father's knees, and wept, 
 and called him by his name. And the old man stretched 
 his hands out, and felt him, and said: "Do not mock 
 me, young hero. My son Jason is dead long ago at 
 sea." 
 
 "I am your own son Jason, whom you trusted to the 
 Centaur upon Pelion; and I have brought home the 
 golden fleece, and a princess of the Sun's race for my 
 bride. So now give me up the kingdom, Pelias my 
 uncle, and fulfil your promise as I have fulfilled mine." 
 
 Then his father clung to him like a child, and wept, 
 and would not let him go; and cried, "Now I shall not 
 go down lonely to my grave. Promise me never to 
 leave me till I die." 
 
 PART VI 
 
 What Was the End of the Heroes 
 
 AND now I wish that I could end my story pleasantly; 
 but it is no fault of mine that I cannot. The old songs 
 end it sadly, and I believe that they are right and wise; 
 for though the heroes were purified at Malea, yet sac- 
 rifices cannot make bad hearts good, and Jason had taken 
 a wicked wife, and he had to bear his burden to the last
 
 296 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 And first she laid a cunning plot, to punish that poor 
 old Pelias, instead of letting him die in peace. 
 
 For she told his daughters: "I can make old things 
 young again; I will show you how easy it is to do." So 
 she took an old ram and killed him, and put him in a 
 cauldron with magic herbs; and whispered her spells 
 over him, and he leapt out again a young lamb. So 
 that "Medeia's cauldron" is a proverb still, by which 
 we mean times of war and change, when the world has 
 become old and feeble, and grows young again through 
 bitter pains. 
 
 Then she said to Pelias's daughters: "Do to your 
 father as I did to this ram, and he will grow young and 
 strong again." But she only told them half the spell; 
 so they failed, while Medeia mocked them; and poor 
 old Pelias died, and his daughters came to misery. But 
 the songs say she cured ^Eson, Jason's father, and he 
 became young and strong again. 
 
 But Jason could not love her, after all her cruel deeds. 
 So he was ungrateful to her, and wronged her: and she 
 revenged herself on him. And a terrible revenge she 
 took too terrible to speak of here. But you will hear 
 of it yourselves when you grow up, for it has been sung 
 in noble poetry and music; and whether it be true or 
 not, it stands forever as a warning to us, not to seek for 
 help from evil persons, or to gain good ends by evil 
 means. For if we use an adder even against our enemies, 
 it will turn again and sting us. 
 
 But of all the other heroes there is many a brave tale 
 left, which I have no space to tell you, so you must read 
 them for yourselves of the hunting of the boar in 
 Calydon, which Meleager killed; and of Heracles's 
 twelve famous labours; and of the seven who fought at
 
 The Argonauts 297 
 
 Thebes; and of the noble love of Castor and Polydeuces, 
 the twin Dioscouroi; how when one died, the other 
 would not live without him, so they shared their immor' 
 tality between them; and Zeus changed them into the 
 two twin stars, which never rise both at once. 
 
 And what became of Cheiron, the good immortal 
 beast? That, too, is a sad story; for the heroes never 
 saw him more. He was wounded by a poisoned arrow, 
 at Pholoe among the hills, when Heracles opened the 
 fatal wine jar, which Cheiron had warned him not to 
 touch. And the Centaurs smelt the wine, and flocked 
 to it, and fought for it with Heracles; but he killed them 
 all with his poisoned arrows, and Cheiron was left alone. 
 Then Cheiron took up one of the arrows, and dropped 
 it by chance upon his foot; and the poison ran like fire 
 along his veins, and he lay down, and longed to die; 
 and cried: "Through wine I perish, the bane of all 
 my race. Why should I live forever in this agony? 
 Who will take my immortality that I may die?" 
 
 Then Prometheus answered, the good Titan, whom 
 Heracles had set free from Caucasus: "I will take your 
 immortality and live forever, that I may help poor mortal 
 men." So Cheiron gave him his immortality, and died, 
 and had rest from pain. And Heracles and Prometheus 
 wept over him, and went to bury him on Pelion; but 
 Zeus took him up among the stars, to live forever, grand 
 and mild, low down in the far southern sky. 
 
 And in time the heroes died, all but Nestor the silver- 
 tongued old man; and left behind them valiant sons, 
 but not so great as they had been. Yet their fame, too, 
 lives till this day; for they fought at the ten years' siege 
 of Troy; and their story is in the book which we call 
 Homer, in two of the noblest songs on earth; the Iliad,
 
 998 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 which tells us of the siege of Troy, and Achilles's quarrel 
 with the kings; and the Odyssey, which tells the wander- 
 ings of Odysseus, through many lands for many years; 
 and how Alcinous sent him home at last, safe to Ithaca 
 his beloved island, and to Penelope his faithful wife, 
 and Telemachus his son, and Euphorbus the noble swine- 
 herd, and the old dog who licked his hand and died.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE GIANT BUILDER 
 
 AGES and ages ago, when the world was first made^ 
 the gods decided to build a beautiful city high above the 
 heavens, the most glorious and wonderful city that ever 
 was known. Asgard was to be its name, and it was to 
 stand on Ida Plain under the shade of Yggdrasil, the 
 great tree whose roots were underneath the earth. 
 
 First of all they built a house with a silver roof, where 
 there were seats for all the twelve chiefs. In the midst, 
 and high above the rest, was the wonder throne of Odin 
 the All-Father, whence he could see everything that 
 happened in the sky or on the earth or in the sea. Next 
 they made a fair house for Queen Frigg and her lovely 
 daughters. Then they built a smithy, with its great 
 hammers, tongs, anvils, and bellows, where the gods 
 could work at their favourite trade, the making of beau- 
 tiful things out of gold; which they did so well that folk 
 name that time the Golden Age. Afterward, as they 
 had more leisure, they built separate houses for all the 
 ^Esir, each more beautiful than the preceding, for of 
 course they were continually growing more skilful. 
 They saved Father Odin's palace until the last, for they 
 meant this to be the largest and the most splendid 
 of all. 
 
 Gladsheim, the home of joy, was the name of Odin's 
 house, and it was built all of gold, set in the midst of a 
 299
 
 300 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 wood whereof the trees had leaves of ruddy gold like 
 an autumn-gilded forest. For the safety of All-Father 
 it was surrounded by a roaring river and by a high picket 
 fence; and there was a great courtyard within. 
 
 The glory of Gladsheim was its wondrous hall, radiant 
 with gold, the most lovely room that time has ever seen. 
 Valhalla, the Hall of Heroes, was the name of it, and it 
 was roofed with the mighty shields of warriors. The 
 ceiling was made of interlacing spears, and there was a 
 portal at the west end before which hung a great gray 
 wolf, while over him a fierce eagle hovered. The hall 
 was so huge that it had 540 gates, through each of which 
 800 men could march abreast. Indeed, there needed to 
 be room, for this was the hall where every morning Odin 
 received all the brave warriors who had died in battle 
 on the earth below; and there were many heroes in 
 those days. 
 
 This was the reward which the gods gave to courage. 
 When a hero had gloriously lost his life, the Valkyries, 
 the nine warrior daughters of Odin, brought his body 
 up to Valhalla on their white horses that gallop the 
 clouds. There they lived forever after in happiness, 
 enjoying the things that they had most loved upon earth. 
 Every morning they armed themselves and went out to 
 fight with one another in the great courtyard. It was 
 a wondrous game, worulrously played. No matter how 
 often a hero was killed, he became alive again in time 
 to return perfectly well to Valhalla, where he ate a deli- 
 cious breakfast with the ysir; while the beautiful 
 Valkyries who had first brought him thither waited at 
 table and poured the blessed mead, which only the 
 immortal taste. A happy life it was for the heroes, 
 and a hap*?y life for all wfc* dwelt in Asgard; for this
 
 The Giant Builder 301 
 
 was before trouble had come among the gods, following 
 the mischief of Loki. 
 
 This is how the trouble began. From the beginning 
 of time, the giants had been unfriendly to the JEslr, 
 because the giants were older and huger and more wicked; 
 besides, they were jealous because the good ^Esir were 
 fast gaining more wisdom and power than the giants 
 had ever known. It was the JEsir who set the fair 
 brother and sister, Sun and Moon, in the sky to give light 
 to men; and it was they also who made the jewelled 
 stars out of sparks from the place of fire. The giants 
 hated the ^Esir, and tried all in their power to injure them 
 and the men of the earth below, whom the JEsir loved 
 and cared for. The gods had already built a wall around 
 Midgard, the world of men, to keep the giants out; 
 built it of the bushy eyebrows of Ymir, the oldest and 
 hugest of giants. Between Asgard and the giants flowed 
 Ifing, the great river on which ice never formed, and 
 which the gods crossed on the rainbow bridge. But 
 this was not protection enough. Their beautiful new 
 city needed a fortress. 
 
 So the word went forth in Asgard: "We must build 
 us a fortress against the giants; the hugest, strongest, 
 finest fortress that ever was built." 
 
 Now one day, soon after they had announced this 
 decision, there came a mighty man stalking up the rain- 
 bow bridge that led to Asgard city. 
 
 "Who goes there!" cried Heimdal the watchman, 
 whose eyes were so keen that he could see for a hundred 
 miles around, and whose ears were so sharp that he 
 could hear the grass growing in the meadow and the 
 wool on the backs of the sheep. "Who goes there I No 
 one can enter Asgard if I say no."
 
 30^ Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 "I er*n a builder," said the stranger, who was a huge 
 fellow with sleeves rolled up to show the iron muscles 
 of his arms. "I am a builder of strong towers, and I 
 have heard that the folk of Asgard need one to help 
 them raise a fair fortress in their city." 
 
 Heimdal looked at the stranger narrowly, for there 
 was that about him which his sharp eyes did not like. 
 But he made no answer, only blew on his golden horn, 
 which was so loud that it sounded through all the world. 
 At this signal all the ysir came running to the rainbow 
 bridge, from wherever they happened to be, to find out 
 who was coming to Asgard. For it was Heimdal's duty 
 ever to warn them of the approach of the unknown. 
 
 "This fellow says he is a builder," quoth Heimdal. 
 "And he would fain build us a fortress in the city." 
 
 "Ay, that I would," nodded the stranger. "Look at 
 my iron arm ; look at my broad back ; look at my shoul- 
 ders. Am I not the workman you need?" 
 
 "Truly, he is a mighty figure," vowed Odin, looking 
 at him approvingly. "How long will it take you alone 
 to build our fortress ? We can allow but one stranger 
 at a time within our city, for safety's sake." 
 
 "In three half-years," replied the stranger, "I will 
 undertake to build for you a castle so strong that not 
 even the giants, should they swarm hither over Midgard 
 not even they could enter without your leave." 
 
 "Aha!" cried Father Odin, well pleased at this offer. 
 "And what reward do you ask, friend, for help so 
 timely?" 
 
 The stranger hummed and hawed and pulled his long 
 beard while he thought. Then he spoke suddenly, as if 
 the idea had just come into his mind. "I will name my 
 price, friends," he said; "a small price for so great a
 
 The Giant Builder 303 
 
 deed. I ask you to give me Freia for my wife, and those 
 two sparkling jewels, the Sun and Moon." 
 
 At this demand the gods looked grave-, for Freia was 
 their dearest treasure. She was the most beautiful maid 
 who ever lived, the light and life of heaven, and if she 
 should leave Asgard, joy would go with her; while the 
 Sun and Moon were the light and life of the jEsir's chil- 
 dren, men, who lived in the little world below. But 
 Loki the sly whispered that they would be safe enough 
 if they made another condition on their part, so hard 
 that the builder could not fulfil it. After thinking 
 cautiously, he spoke for them all. 
 
 "Mighty man," quoth he, "we are willing to agree to 
 your price upon one condition. It is too long a time 
 that you ask; we cannot wait three half-years for our 
 castle; that is equai co three centuries when one is in a 
 hurry. See that you finish the fort without help in one 
 winter, one short winter, and you shall have fair Freia 
 with the Sun and Moon. But if, on the first day of 
 summer, one stone is wanting to the walls, or if anyone 
 has given you aid in the building, then your reward is 
 lost, and you shall depart without payment." So spoke 
 Loki, in the name of all the gods; but the plan was his 
 own. 
 
 At first the stranger shook his head and frowned, say- 
 ing that in so short a time no one unaided could complete 
 the undertaking. At last he made another offer. "Let 
 me have but my good horse to help me, and I will try," 
 he urged. "Let me bring the useful Svadilfori with me 
 to the task, and I will finish the work in one winter of 
 short days, or lose my reward. Surely, you will 
 not deny me this little help, from one foui-footed 
 friend."
 
 304 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Then again the ^Esir consulted, and the wiser of them 
 were doubtful whether it were best to accept the stranger's 
 offer so strangely made. But again Loki urged them to 
 accept. "Surely, there is no harm," he said. "Even 
 with his old horse to help him, he cannot build the castle 
 in the promised time. We shall gain a fortress without 
 trouble and with never a price to pay." 
 
 Loki was so eager that, although the other ^Esir did 
 not like this crafty way of making bargains, they finally 
 consented. Then in the presence of the heroes, with 
 the Valkyries and Mimer's head for witnesses, the 
 stranger and the JEsir gave solemn promise that the bar- 
 gain should be kept. 
 
 On the first day of winter the strange builder began 
 his work, and wondrous was the way he set about it. 
 His strength seemed as the strength of a hundred men. 
 As for his horse Svadilfori, he did more work by half 
 than even the mighty builder. In the night he dragged 
 the enormous rocks that were to be used in building the 
 castle, rocks as big as mountains of the earth; while in 
 the daytime the stranger piled them into place with his 
 iron arms. The JEsir watched him with amazement; 
 never was seen such strength in Asgard. Neither Tyr 
 the stout nor Thor the strong could match the power 
 of the stranger. The gods began to look at one another 
 uneasily. Who was this mighty one who had come 
 among them, and what if after all he should win his 
 reward? Freia trembled in her palace, and the Sun 
 and Moon grew dim with fear. 
 
 Still the work went on, and the fort was piling higher 
 and higher, by day and by night. There were but three 
 days left before the end of winter, and already the building 
 was so tall and so strong that it was safe from the attacks
 
 The Giant Bunder 305 
 
 of any giant. The ^Esir were delighted with their fine 
 new castle; but their pride was dimmed by the fear that 
 it must be paid for at all too costly a price. For only 
 the gateway remained to be completed, and unless the 
 stranger should fail to finish that in the next three days, 
 they must give him Freia with the Sun and Moon. 
 
 The JLsir held a meeting upon Ida Plain, a meeting 
 full of fear and anger. At last they realised what they 
 had done; they had made a bargain with one of the 
 giants, their enemies; and if he won the prize, it would 
 mean sorrow and darkness in heaven and upon earth. 
 "How did we happen to agree to so mad a bargain?" 
 they asked one another. "Who suggested the wicked 
 plan which bids fair to cost us all that we most cherish?" 
 Then they remembered that it was Loki who had made 
 the plan; it was he who had insisted that it be carried 
 out; and they blamed him for all the trouble. 
 
 "It is your counsels, Loki, that have brought this 
 danger upon us," quoth Father Odin, frowning. "You 
 chose the way of guile, which is not our way. It now 
 remains for you to help us by guile, if you can. But if 
 you cannot save for us Freia and the Sun and Moon, 
 you shall die. This is my word." All the other ^Esir 
 agreed that this was just. Thor alone was away hunting 
 evil demons at the other end of the world, so he did not 
 know what was going on, and what dangers were threat- 
 ening Asgard. 
 
 Loki was much frightened at the word of All-Father. 
 "It was my fault," he cried, "but how was I to know 
 that he was a giant? He had disguised himself so that 
 he seemed but a strong man. And as for his horse it 
 looks much like that of other folk. If it were not for 
 the horse, he could not finish the work. Hal I
 
 306 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 thought! The builder shall not finish the gate; the 
 giant shall not receive his payment. I will cheat the 
 fellow." 
 
 Now it was the last night of winter, and there remained 
 but a few stones to put in place on the top of the wondrous 
 gateway. The giant was sure of his prize, and chuckled 
 to himself as he went out with his horse to drag the 
 remaining stones; for he did not know that the ^Esir 
 had guessed at last who he was, and that Loki was plotting 
 to outwit him. Hardly had he gone to work when out 
 of the wood came running a pretty little mare, who 
 neighed to Svadilfori as if inviting the tired horse to 
 leave his work and come to the green fields for a 
 holiday. 
 
 Svadilfori, you must remember, had been working 
 hard all winter, with never a sight of four-footed creature 
 of his kind, and he was very lonesome and tired of drag- 
 ging stones. Giving a snort of disobedience, off he ran 
 after this new friend toward the grassy meadows. Off 
 went the giant after him, howling with rage, and running 
 for dear life, as he saw not only his horse but his chance 
 of success slipping out of reach. It was a mad chasCj 
 and all Asgard thundered with the noise of galloping 
 hoofs and the giant's mighty tread. The mare who 
 raced ahead was Loki in disguise, and he led 
 Svadilfori far out of reach, to a hidden meadow 
 that he knew; so that the giant howled and panted up 
 and down all night long, without catching even a sight 
 of his horse. 
 
 Now when the morning came the gateway was still 
 unfinished, and night and winter had ended at the same 
 hour. The giant's time was over, and he had forfeited 
 bis reward. The ^Esir came flocking to the gateway,
 
 The Giant Builder 307 
 
 and how they laughed and triumphed when they found 
 three stones wanting to complete the gate! 
 
 "You have failed, fellow," judged Father Odin sternly, 
 "and no price shall we pay for work that is still undone. 
 You have failed. Leave Asgard quickly; we have seen 
 all we want of you and of your race." 
 
 Then the giant knew that he was discovered, and he 
 was mad with rage. "It was a trick!" he bellowed, 
 assuming his own proper form, which was huge as a 
 mountain, and towered high beside the fortress that he 
 had built. "It was a wicked trick. You shall pay for 
 this in one way or another. I cannot tear down the castle 
 which, ungrateful ones, I have built you, stronger than 
 the strength of any giant. But I will demolish the rest 
 of your shining city!" Indeed, he would have done so 
 in his mighty rage; but at this moment Thor, whom 
 Heimdal had called from the end of the earth by one 
 blast of the golden horn, came rushing to the rescue, 
 drawn in his chariot of goats. Thor jumped to the 
 ground close beside the giant, and before that huge 
 fellow knew what had happened, his head was rolling 
 upon the ground at Father Odin's feet; for with one 
 blow Thor had put an end to the giant's wickedness and 
 had saved Asgard. 
 
 "This is the reward you deserve!" Thor cried. "Not 
 Freia nor the Sun and Moon, but the death that I have 
 in store for all the enemies of the ^Esir." 
 
 In this extraordinary way the noble city of Asgard 
 was made safe and complete by the addition of a fortress 
 which no one, not even the giant who built it, could 
 injure, it was so wonder-strong. But always at the top 
 of the gate were lacking three great stones that no one 
 was mighty enough to lift. This was a reminder to the
 
 308 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 JE&ir that now they had the race of giants for their ever- 
 lasting enemies. And though Loki's trick had saved 
 them Freia, and for the world the Sun and Moon, it 
 was the beginning of trouble in Asgard which lasted as 
 long as Loki lived to make mischief with his guile.
 
 CHAPTER XH 
 
 HOW ODIN LOST HIS EYE * 
 
 IN the beginning of things, before there was an 
 or sun, moon, and stars, there were the giants; for these 
 were the oldest creatures that ever breathed. They 
 Jived in Jotunheim, the land of frost and darkness, and 
 their nearts were evil. Next came the gods, the g *od 
 jEsir, who made earth and sky and sea, and who dwelt 
 in Asgard, above the heavens. Then were created the 
 queer little dwarfs, who lived underground in the caverns 
 of the mountains, working at their mines of metal and 
 precious stones. Last of all, the gods made men to 
 dwell in Midgard, the good world that we know, between 
 which and the glorious home of the JEsii stretched Bifrost, 
 the bridge of rainbows. 
 
 In those days, folk say, there was a mighty ash tree 
 named Yggdrasil, so vast that its branches shaded the 
 whole earth and stretched up into heaven where the 
 JEsir dwelt, while its roots sank far down below the 
 lowest depth. In the branches of the big ash tree 
 lived a queer family of creatures. First, there was a 
 great eagle, who was wiser than any bird that ever 
 lived except the two ravens, Thought and Memory, 
 who sat upon Father Odin's shoulders and told him the 
 secrets which they learned in their flight over the wide 
 world. Near the great eagle perched a hawk, and four 
 
 * Copyright by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Permission to reprint obtained. 
 309
 
 310 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 antlered deer browsed among the buds of Yggdrasil. 
 At the foot of the tree coiled a huge serpent, who was 
 always gnawing hungrily at its roots, with a whole colony 
 of little snakes to keep him company so many that 
 they could never be counted. The eagle at the top of 
 the tree and the serpent at its foot were enemies, always 
 saying hard things of each other. Between the two 
 skipped up and down a little squirrel, a tale bearer and 
 a gossip, who repeated each unkind remark and, like 
 the malicious neighbour that he was, kept their quarrel 
 ever fresh and green. 
 
 T n one place at the roots of Yggdrasil was a fair foun- 
 tain called the Urdar-well, where the three Norn maidens, 
 who knew the past, present, and future, dwelt with their 
 pets, the two white swans. This was magic water hi 
 the fountain, which the Norns sprinkled every day upon 
 the giant tree to keep it green water so sacred that 
 everything which entered it became white as the film 
 of an eggshell. Close beside this sacred well the Msir 
 had their council hall, to which they galloped every 
 morning over the rainbow bridge. 
 
 But Father Odin, the king of ah 1 the ^Esh", knew of 
 another fountain more wonderful still; the two ravens 
 whom he sent forth to bring him news had told him. 
 This also was below the roots of Yggdrasil, in the spot 
 where the sky and ocean met. Here for centuries and 
 centuries the giant Mimer had sat keeping guard over 
 his hidden well, in the bottom of which lay such a treasure 
 of wisdom as was to be found nowhere else in the world. 
 Every morning Mimer dipped his glittering horn Gioll 
 into the fountain and drew out a draught of the wondrous 
 water, which he drank to make him wise. Every day 
 he grew wiser and wiser; and as this had been going on
 
 How Odin Lost His Eye 311 
 
 ever since the beginning of things, you can scarcely 
 imagine how wise Mimer was. 
 
 Now it did not seem right to Father Odin that a giant 
 should have all this wisdom to himself; for the giants 
 were the enemies of the ^Esir, and the wisdom which 
 they had been hoarding for ages before the gods were 
 made was generally used for evil purposes. Moreover, 
 Odin longed and longed to become the wisest being in 
 the world. So he resolved to win a draught from Mimer's 
 well, if in any way that could be done. 
 
 One night, when the sun had set behind the mountains 
 of Midgard, Odin put on his broad-brimmed hat and 
 his striped cloak, and taking his famous staff in his hand, 
 trudged down the long bridge to where it ended by 
 Mimer's secret grotto. 
 
 "Good-day, Mimer," said Odin, entering; "I have 
 come for a drink from your well." 
 
 The giant was sitting with his knees drawn up to his 
 chin, his long white beard falling over his folded arms, 
 and his head nodding; for Mimer was very old, and he 
 often fell asleep while watching over his precious spring. 
 He woke with a frown at Odin's words. "You want 
 a drink from my well, do you?" he growled. "Hey! 
 I let no one drink from my well." 
 
 "Nevertheless, you must let me have a draught from 
 your glittering horn," insisted Odin, "and I will pay 
 you for it." 
 
 " Oho, you will pay me for it, will you ? " echoed Mimer, 
 eyeing his visitor keenly. For now that he was wide 
 awake, his wisdom taught him that this was no ordinary 
 stranger. "What will you pay for a drink from my 
 well, and why do you wish it so much?" 
 
 "I can see with my eyes all that goes on in heaven
 
 512 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 and upon earth," said Odin, "but I cannot see into the 
 depths of ocean. I lack the hidden wisdom of the deep 
 the wit that lies at the bottom of your fountain. My 
 ravens tell me many secrets; but I would know all. 
 And as for payment, ask what you will, and I will pledge 
 anything in return for the draught of wisdom." 
 
 Then Mimer's keen glance grew keener. "You are 
 Odin, of the race of gods," he cried. "We giants are 
 centuries older than you, and our wisdom which we 
 have treasured during these ages, when we were the only 
 creatures in all space, is a precious thing. If I grant 
 you a draught from my well, you will become as one of 
 us, a wise and dangerous enemy. It is a goodly price, 
 Odin, which I shall demand for a boon so great." 
 
 Now Odin was growing impatient for the sparkling 
 water. "Ask your price," he frowned. "I have prom- 
 ised that I will pay." 
 
 "What say you, then, to leaving one of those far- 
 seeing eyes of yours at the bottom of my well?" asked 
 Mimer, hoping that he would refuse the bargain. "This 
 is the only payment I will take." 
 
 Odin hesitated. It was indeed a heavy price, and one 
 that he could ill afford, for he was proud of his noble 
 beauty. But he glanced at the magic fountain bubbling 
 mysteriously in the shadow, and he knew that he must 
 have the draught. 
 
 "Give me the glittering horn," he answered. "I 
 pledge you my eye for a draught to the brim." 
 
 Very unwillingly Mimer filled the horn from the 
 fountain of wisdom and handed it to Odin. "Drink, 
 then," he said; "drink and grow wise. This hour is 
 the beginning of trouble between your race and mine." 
 And wise Mimer foretold the truth.
 
 How Odin Lost His Eye 313 
 
 Odin thought merely of the wisdom which was to be 
 his. He seized the horn eagerly, and emptied it without 
 delay. From that moment he became wiser than any- 
 one else in the world except Mimer himself. 
 
 Now he had the price to pay, which was not so pleasant. 
 When he went away from the grotto, he left at the bottom 
 of the dark pool one of his fiery eyes, which twinkled 
 and winked up through the magic depths like the reflec- 
 tion of a star. This is how Odin lost his eye, and why 
 from that day he was careful to pull his gray hat low 
 over his face when he wanted to pass unnoticed. For 
 by this oddity folk could easily recognise the wise lord of 
 Asgard. 
 
 In the bright morning, when the sun rose over the 
 mountains of Midgard, old Mimer drank from hTs 
 bubbly well a draught of the wise water that flowed over 
 Odin's pledge. Doing so, from his underground grotto 
 he saw all that befell in heaven and on earth. So that 
 he also was wiser by the bargain. Mimer seemed to 
 have secured rather the best of it; for he lost nothing 
 that he could not spare, while Odin lost what no man 
 can well part with one of the good windows where- 
 through his heart looks out upon the world. But there 
 was a sequel to these doings which made the balance 
 swing down in Odin's favour. 
 
 Not long after this, the ^Esir quarrelled with the Vanir, 
 wild enemies of theirs, and there was a terrible battle. 
 But in the end the two sides made peace; and to prove 
 that they meant never to quarrel again, they exchanged 
 hostages. The Vanir gave to the JEsir old Niord the 
 rich, the lord of the sea and the ocean wind, with his 
 two children, Frey and Freia. This was indeed a gra- 
 cious gift; for Freia was the most beautiful maid in the
 
 314 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 world, and her twin brother was almost as fair. To the 
 Vanir in return Father Odin gave his own brother Hoenir. 
 And with Hcenir he sent Mimer the wise, whom he took 
 from his lonely well. 
 
 Now the Vanir made Hcenir their chief, thinking that 
 he must be very wise because he was the brother of great 
 Odin, who had lately become famous for his wisdom. 
 They did not know the secret of Mimer's well, how the 
 hoary old giant was far more wise than anyone who 
 had not quaffed of the magic water. It is true that in the 
 assemblies of the Vanir Hcenir gave excellent counsel. 
 But this was because Mimer whispered in Hcenir's ear 
 all the wisdom that he uttered. Witless Hcenir was quite 
 helpless without his aid, and did not know what to do 
 or say. Whenever Mimer was absent he would look 
 nervous and frightened, and if folk questioned him he 
 always answered: 
 
 "Yes, ah yes! Now go and consult someone else." 
 
 Of course the Vanir soon grew very angry at such 
 silly answers from their chief, and presently they began 
 to suspect the truth. "Odin has deceived us," they 
 said. "He has sent us his foolish brother with a witch 
 to tell him what to say. Ha! We will show him that we 
 understand the trick." So they cut off poor old Mimer's 
 head and sent it to Odin as a present. 
 
 The tales do not say what Odin thought of the gift. 
 Perhaps he was glad that now there was no one in the 
 whole world who could be called so wise as himself. 
 Perhaps he was sorry for the danger into which he 
 had thrust a poor old giant who had never done him any 
 wrong, except to be a giant of the race which the JEsir 
 hated. Perhaps he was a little ashamed of the trick 
 which he had played lie Vanir. Odin's new wisdom
 
 How Odin Lost His Eye 315 
 
 showed him how to prepare Mimer's head with herbs 
 and charms, so that it stood up by itself quite naturally 
 and seemed not dead. Thenceforth Odin kept it near 
 him, and learned from it many useful secrets which it had 
 not forgotten. 
 
 So in the end Odin fared better than the unhappy 
 Mimer, whose worst fault was that he knew more than 
 most folk. That is a dangerous fault, as others have 
 found; though it is not one for which many of us need 
 fear being punished.
 
 CHAPTER Xin 
 
 THE QUEST OF THE HAMMER 
 
 ONE morning Thor the Thunderer awoke with a 
 yawn, and stretching out his knotted arm, felt for his 
 precious hammer, which he kept always under his 
 pillow of clouds. But he started up with a roar of rage, 
 so that all the palace trembled. The hammer was 
 gone! 
 
 Now this was a very serious matter, for Thor was the 
 protector of Asgard, and Miolnir, the magic hammer 
 which the dwarf had made, was his mighty weapon, of 
 which the enemies of the JEsir stood so much in dread 
 that they dared not venture near. But if they should 
 learn that Miolnir was gone, who could tell what danger 
 might not threaten the palaces of heaven? 
 
 Thor darted his flashing eye into every corner of 
 Cloud Land in search of the hammer. He called his 
 fair wife, Sif of the golden hair, to aid in the search, and 
 his two lovely daughters, Thrude and Lora. They 
 hunted and they hunted ; they turned Thrudheim upside 
 down, and set the clouds to rolling wonderfully, as they 
 peeped and pried behind and around and under each 
 billowy mass. But Miolnir was not to be found. Cer- 
 tainly, someone had stolen it. 
 
 Thor's yellow beard quivered with rage, and his hair 
 bristled on end like the golden rays of a star, while all his 
 household trembled. 
 
 3x6
 
 The Quest of the Hammer 317 
 
 "It is Loki again!" he cried. "I am sure Loki is at 
 the bottom of this mischief!" For since the time when 
 Thor had captured Loki for the dwarf Brock and had 
 given him over to have his bragging lips sewed up, Loki 
 had looked at him with evil eyes; and Thor knew that the 
 red rascal hated him most of all the gods. 
 
 But this time Thor was mistaken. It was not Loki 
 who had stolen the hammer he was too great a coward 
 for that. And though he meant, before the end, to be 
 revenged upon Thor, he was waiting until a safe chance 
 should come, when Thor himself might stumble into 
 danger, and Loki need only to help the evil by a malicious 
 word or two; and this chance came later, as you shall 
 hear in another tale. 
 
 Meanwhile Loki was on his best behaviour, trying to 
 appear very kind and obliging; so when Thor came rum- 
 bling and roaring up to him, demanding, "What have you 
 done with my hammer, you thief?" Loki looked sur- 
 prised, but did not lose his temper nor answer rudely. 
 
 "Have you indeed missed your hammer, brother 
 Thor?" he said, mumbling, for his mouth was still sore 
 where Brock had sewed the stitches. "That is a pity; 
 for if the giants hear of this, they will be coming to try 
 their might against Asgard." 
 
 "Hush!" muttered Thor, grasping him by the shoulder 
 with his iron fingers. "That is what I fear. But 
 look you, Loki: I suspect your hand in the mischief. 
 Come, confess." 
 
 Then Loki protested that he had nothing to do with 
 so wicked a deed. "But," he added wheedlingly, "I 
 think I can guess the thief; and because I love you, Thor, 
 I will help you to find him." 
 
 "Humph!" growled Thor. "Much love you bear to
 
 318 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 me! However, you are a wise rascal, the nimblest wit 
 of all the ^Esir, and it is better to have you on my side than 
 on the other, when giants are in the game. Tell me, then: 
 who has robbed the Thunder Lord of his bolt of power?" 
 
 Loki drew near and whispered in Thor's ear. "Look, 
 how the storms rage and the winds howl in the world 
 below! Someone is wielding your thunder hammer all 
 unskilfully. Can you not guess the thief? Who but 
 Thrym, the mighty giant who has ever been your enemy 
 and your imitator, and whose fingers have long itched 
 to grasp the short handle of mighty Miolnir, that the 
 world may name him Thunder Lord instead of you. 
 But look ! What a tempest ! The world will be shattered 
 into fragments unless we soon get the hammer back." 
 
 Then Thor roared with rage. "I will seek this 
 impudent Thrym!" he cried. "I will crush him into 
 bits, and teach him to meddle with the weapon of the 
 jEsir!" 
 
 "Softly, softly," said Loki, smiling maliciously. 
 "He is a shrewd giant, and a mighty. Even you, great 
 Thor, cannot go to him and pluck the hammer from his 
 hand as one would slip the rattle from a baby's pink fist. 
 Nay, you must use craft, Thor; and it is I who will teach 
 you, if you will be patient." 
 
 Thor was a brave, blunt fellow, and he hated the ways 
 of Loki, his lies and his deceit. He liked best the way of 
 warriors the thundering charge, the flash of weapons, 
 and the heavy blow; but without the hammer he could 
 not fight the giants hand to hand. Loki's advice seemed 
 wise, and he decided to leave the matter to the Red One. 
 
 Loki was now all eagerness, for he loved difficulties 
 which would set his wit in play and bring other folk into 
 danger. "Look, now," he said. "We must go to
 
 The Quest of the Hammer 319 
 
 Freia and borrow her falcon dress. But you must ask; 
 for she loves me so little that she would scarce listen to 
 me." 
 
 So first they made their way to Folkvang, the house 
 of maidens, where Freia dwelt, the loveliest of all in 
 Asgard. She was fairer than fair, and sweeter than 
 sweet, and the tears from her flower eyes made the dew 
 which blessed the earth flowers night and morning. 
 Of her Thor borrowed the magic dress of feathers in which 
 Freia was wont to clothe herself and flit like a great 
 beautiful bird all about the world. She was willing 
 enough to lend it to Thor when he told her that by its 
 aid he hoped to win back the hammer which he had lost ; 
 for she well knew the danger threatening herself and all 
 the .<Esir until Miolnir should be found. 
 
 "Now will I fetch the hammer for you," said Loki. 
 So he put on the falcon plumage, and, spreading his 
 brown wings, flapped away up, up, over the world, down, 
 down, across the great ocean which lies beyond all things 
 that men know. And he came to the dark country 
 where there was no sunshine nor spring, but it was always 
 dreary winter; where mountains were piled up like 
 blocks of ice, and where great caverns yawned hungrily 
 in blackness. And this was Jotunheim, the land of the 
 Frost Giants. 
 
 And lo! when Loki came thereto he found Thrym the 
 Giant King sitting outside his palace cave, playing with 
 his dogs and horses. The dogs were as big as elephants, 
 and the horses were as big as houses, but Thrym himself 
 was as huge as a mountain; and Loki trembled, but he 
 tried to seem brave. 
 
 "Good-day, Loki," said Thrym, with the terrible voice 
 of which he was so proud, for he fancied it was as loud as
 
 320 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Thor's. "How fares it, feathered one, with your Tittle 
 brothers, the ^Esir, in Asgard halls ? And how dare you 
 venture alone in this guise to Giant Land ? " 
 
 "It is an ill day in Asgard," sighed Loki, keeping his 
 eye warily upon the giant, "and a stormy one in the 
 world of men. I heard the winds howling and the 
 storms rushing on the earth as I passed by. Some 
 mighty one has stolen the hammer of our Thor. Is it 
 you, Thrym, greatest of all giants greater than Thor 
 himself?" 
 
 This the crafty one said to flatter Thrym, for Loki 
 well knew the weakness of those who love to be thought 
 greater than they are. 
 
 Then Thrym bridled and swelled with pride, and tried 
 to put on the majesty and awe of noble Thor; but he only 
 succeeded in becoming an ugly, puffy monster. 
 
 "Well, yes," he admitted. "I have the hammer that 
 belonged to your little Thor; and now how much of a 
 lord is he?" 
 
 "Alack!" sighed Loki again, "weak enough he is 
 without his magic weapon. But you, O Thrym surely 
 your mightiness needs no such aid. Give me the hammer, 
 that Asgard may no longer be shaken by Thor's grief for 
 his precious toy." 
 
 But Thrym was not so easily to be flattered into parting 
 with his stolen treasure. He grinned a dreadful grin, 
 several yards in width, which his teeth barred like jagged 
 boulders across the entrance to a mountain cavern. 
 
 "Miolnir the hammer is mine," he said, "and I am 
 Thunder Lord, mightiest of the mighty. I have hidden 
 it where Thor can never find it, twelve leagues below the 
 sea caves, where Queen Ran lives with her daughters, 
 the white-capped Waves. But listen, Loki Go tell
 
 The Quest of the Hammer 321 
 
 the JEsir that I will give back Thor's hammer. I will 
 give it back upon one condition that they send Freia 
 the beautiful to be my wife." 
 
 "Freia the beautiful!" Loki had to stifle a laugh. 
 Fancy the ^Esu- giving their fairest flower to such an 
 ugly fellow as this! But he only said politely, "Ah, yes; 
 you demand our Freia in exchange for the little hammer ? 
 It is a costly price, great Thrym. But I will be your 
 friend in Asgard. If I have my way, you shall soon see 
 the fairest bride in all the world knocking at your door. 
 Farewell!" 
 
 So Loki whizzed back to Asgard on his falcon wings; 
 and as he went he chuckled to think of the evils which 
 were likely to happen because of his words with Thrym. 
 First he gave the message to Thor not sparing of 
 Thrym's insolence, to make Thor angry; and then he 
 went to Freia with the word for her not sparing of 
 Thrym's ugliness, to make her shudder. The spiteful 
 fellow I 
 
 Now you can imagine the horror that was in Asgard as 
 the ^Esir listened to Loki's words. "My hammer!" 
 roared Thor. "The villain confesses that he has stolen 
 my hammer, and boasts that he is Thunder Lordl 
 Gr-r-r!" 
 
 "The ugly giant ! " wailed Freia. " Must I be the bride 
 of that hideous old monster, and live in his gloomy moun- 
 tain prison all my life?" 
 
 "Yes; put on your bridal veil, sweet Freia," said Loki 
 maliciously, "and come with me to Jotunheim. Hang 
 your famous starry necklace about your neck, and don 
 your bravest robe; for in eight days there will be a 
 wedding, and Thor's hammer is to pay." 
 
 Then Freia fell to weeping. "I cannot go! I will not
 
 322 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 go!" she cried. "I will not leave the home of gladness 
 and Father Odin's table to dwell in the land of horrors! 
 Thor's hammer is mighty, but mightier the love of the 
 kind ^Esir for their little Freia ! Good Odin, dear brother 
 Frey, speak for me ! You will not make me go ? " 
 
 The ^Esir looked at her and thought how lonely and 
 bare would Asgard he without her loveliness; for she was 
 fairer than fair, and sweeter than sweet. 
 
 "She shall not go!" shouted Frey, putting his arms 
 about his sister's neck. 
 
 "No, she shall not go I" cried all the ^Esir with one 
 voice. 
 
 "But my hammer," insisted Thor. "I must have 
 Miolnir back again." 
 
 "And my word to Thrym," said Loki, "that must be 
 made good." 
 
 "You are too generous with your words," said Father 
 Odin sternly, for he knew his brother well. "Your word 
 is not a gem of great price, for you have made it cheap." 
 
 Then spoke Heimdal, the sleepless watchman who 
 sits on guard at the entrance to the rainbow bridge 
 which leads to Asgard; and Heimdal was the wisest of 
 the JEsir, for he could see into the future, and knew 
 how things would come to pass. Through his golden 
 teeth he spoke, for his teeth were all of gold. 
 
 "I have a plan," he said. "Let us dress Thor himself 
 like a bride in Freia's robes, and send him to Jotunheim 
 to talk with Thrym and to win back his hammer." 
 
 But at this word Thor grew very angry. "What! 
 dress me like a girl!" he roared. "I should never hear 
 the last of it! The ^Esir will mock me, and call me 
 * maiden'! The giants, and even the puny dwarfs, 
 will have a lasting jest upon mel I will not go! I wiU
 
 The Quest of the Hammer 323 
 
 fight! I will die, if need be 1 But dressed as a woman I 
 will not go I" 
 
 But Loki answered him with sharp words, for this was 
 a scheme after his own heart. "What, Thor!" he said. 
 "Would you lose your hammer and keep Asgard in 
 danger for so small a whim Look, now: if you go not, 
 Thrym with his giants will come in a mighty army and 
 drive us from Asgard; then he will indeed make Freia 
 his bride, and, moreover, he will have you for his slave 
 under the power of his hammer. How like you this 
 picture, brother of the thunder? Nay, Heimdal's plan 
 is a good one, and I myself will help to carry it out." 
 
 Still Thor hesitated; but Freia came and laid her 
 white hand on his arm, and looked up into his scowling 
 face pleadingly. 
 
 "To save me, Thor," she begged. And Thor said 
 he would go. 
 
 Then there was great sport among the /Esir, while they 
 dressed Thor like a beautiful maiden. Brunhilde and 
 her sisters, the nine Valkyrie, daughters of Odin, had the 
 task in hand. How they laughed as they brushed and 
 curled his yellow hair, and set upon it the wondrous 
 headdress of silk and pearls! They let out seams, and 
 they let down hems, and set on extra pieces, to make it 
 larger, and so they hid his great limbs and knotted arms 
 under Freia's fairest robe of scarlet; but beneath it all he 
 would wear his shirt of mail and his belt of power that 
 gave him double strength. Freia herself twisted about 
 his neck her famous necklace of starry jewels, and Queen 
 Frigg, his mother, hung at his girdle a jingling bunch of 
 keys, such as was the custom for the bride to wear at 
 Norse weddings. Last of all, that Thrym might not see 
 Thor's fierce eyes and the yellow beard, that ill became
 
 3 24 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 a maiden, they threw over him a long veil of silver white 
 which covered him to the feet. And there he stood, as 
 stately and tall a bride as even a giant might wish to see; 
 but on his hands he wore his iron gloves, and they ached 
 for but one thing to grasp the handle of the stolen 
 hammer. 
 
 "Ah, what a lovely maid it is!" chuckled Loki; "and 
 how glad will Thrym be to see this Freia come! Bride 
 Thor, I will go with you as your handmaiden, for I 
 would fain see the fun." 
 
 "Come, then," said Thor sulkily, for he was ill pleased, 
 and wore his maiden robes with no good grace. "It is 
 fitting that you go; for I like not these lies and maskings, 
 and I may spoil the mummery without you at my 
 elbow." 
 
 There was loud laughter above the clouds when Thor, 
 all veiled and dainty seeming, drove away from Asgard 
 to his wedding, with maid Loki by his side. Thor 
 cracked his whip and chirruped fiercely to his twin goats 
 with golden hoofs, for he wanted to escape the sounds of 
 mirth that echoed from the rainbow bridge, where all 
 the JEsir stood watching. Loki, sitting with his hands 
 meekly folded like a girl, chuckled as he glanced up at 
 Thor's angry face; but he said nothing, for he knew it 
 was not good to joke too far with Thor, even when 
 Miolnir was hidden twelve leagues below the sea in 
 Ran's kingdom. 
 
 So off they dashed to Jotunheim, where Thrym was 
 waiting and longing for his beautiful bride. Thor's 
 goats thundered along above the sea and land and people 
 far below, who looked up wondering as the noise rolled 
 overhead. "Hear how the thunder rumbles!" they said. 
 "Thor is on a long journey to-night." And a long jour-
 
 The Quest of the Hammer 335 
 
 ney it was, as the tired goats found before they reached 
 the end. 
 
 Thrym heard the sound of their approach, for his ear 
 was eager. "Hola!" he cried. "Someone is coming 
 from Asgard only one of Odin's children could make 
 a din so fearful. Hasten, men, and see if they are bring- 
 ing Freia to be my wife." 
 
 Then the lookout giant stepped down from the top 
 of his mountain, and said that a chariot was bringing 
 two maidens to the door. 
 
 "Run, giants, run!" shouted Thrym, in a fever at 
 this news. "My bride is coming! Put silken cushions 
 on the benches for a great banquet, and make the house 
 beautiful for the fairest maid in all space! Bring in 
 all my golden-horned cows and my coal-black oxen, 
 that she may see how rich I am, and heap all my gold 
 and jewels about to dazzle her sweet eyes! She shall 
 find me richest of the rich; and when I have her fairest 
 of the fair there will be no treasure that I lack not 
 one!" 
 
 The chariot stopped at the gate, and out stepped the 
 tall bride, hidden from head to foot, and her handmaiden 
 muffled to the chin. "How afraid of catching cold they 
 must be!" whispered the giant ladies, who were peering 
 over one another's shoulders to catch a glimpse of the 
 bride, just as the crowd outside the awning does at a 
 wedding nowadays. 
 
 Thrym had sent six splendid servants to escort the 
 maidens: these were the Metal Kings, who served him 
 as lord of them all. There was the Gold King, all in 
 cloth of gold, with fringes of yellow bullion, most glitter- 
 ing to see; and there was the Silver King, almost as 
 gorgeous in a suit of spangled white; and side by side
 
 326 Myths Every Child SJtould Know 
 
 bowed the dark Kings of Iron and Lead, the one mighty 
 in black, the other sullen in blue; and after them were 
 the Copper King, gleaming ruddy and brave, and the 
 Tin King, strutting in his trimmings of gaudy tinsel 
 which looked nearly as well as silver, but were more 
 economical. And this fine troop of lackey kings most 
 politely led Thor and Loki into the palace, and gave 
 them of the best, for they never suspected who these 
 seeming maidens really were. 
 
 And when evening came there was a wonderful banquet 
 to celebrate the wedding. On a golden throne sat 
 Thrym, uglier than ever in his finery of purple and gold. 
 Beside him was the bride, of whose face no one had yet 
 caught even a glimpse; and at Thrym's other hand stood 
 Loki, the waiting maid, for he wanted to be near to mend 
 the mistakes which Thor might make. 
 
 Now the dishes at the feast were served in a huge way, 
 as befitted the table of giants: great beeves roasted 
 whole, on platters as wide across as a ship's deck; plum 
 puddings as fat as feather beds, with plums as big as 
 footballs; and a wedding cake like a snow-capped hay 
 mow. The giants ate enormously. But to Thor, 
 because they thought him a dainty maiden, they served 
 small bits of everything on a tiny gold dish. Now Thor's 
 long journey had made him very hungry, and through 
 his veil he whispered to Loki, "I shall starve, Loki! I 
 cannot fare on these nibbles. I must eat a goodly meal 
 as I do at home." And forthwith he helped himself 
 to such morsels as might satisfy his hunger for a littk 
 time. You should have seen the giants stare at the mea 1 
 which the dainty bride devoured! 
 
 For first under the silver veil disappeared by pieces \ 
 whole roast ox. Then Thor made eight mouthfuls oi
 
 The Quest of the Hammer 327 
 
 eight pink salmon, a dish of which he was very fond. 
 And next he looked about and reached for a platter of 
 cakes and sweetmeats that was set aside at one end of 
 the table for the lady guests, and the bride ate them all. 
 You can fancy how the damsels drew down their mouths 
 and looked at one another when they saw their dessert 
 disappear; and they whispered about the table, "Alack! 
 if our future mistress is to sup like this day by day, 
 there will be poor cheer for the rest of us!" And to 
 crown it all, Thor was thirsty, as well he might be; and 
 one after another he raised to his lips and emptied three 
 great barrels of mead, the foamy drink of the giants. 
 Then indeed Thrym was amazed, for Thor's giant appe- 
 tite had beaten that of the giants themselves. 
 
 "Never before saw I a bride so hungry," he cried, 
 "and never before one half so thirsty!" 
 
 But Loki, the waiting maid, whispered to him softly, 
 "The truth is, great Thrym, that my dear mistress was 
 almost starved. For eight days Freia has eaten nothing 
 at all, so eager was she for Jotunheim." 
 
 Then Thrym was delighted, you may be sure. He 
 forgave his hungry bride, and loved her with all his 
 heart. He leaned forward to give her a kiss, raising a 
 corner of her veil; but his hand dropped suddenly, and 
 he started up in terror, for he had caught the angry 
 flash of Thor's eye, which was glaring at him 
 through the bridal veil. Thor was longing for his 
 hammer. 
 
 "Why has Freia so sharp a look?" Thrym cried. 
 "It pierces like lightning and burns like fire." 
 
 But again the sly waiting maid whispered timidly, 
 "Oh, Thrym, be not amazed! The truth is, my poor 
 mistress's eyes are red with wakefuiness and briphi
 
 328 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 with longing. For eight nights Freia lias not known a 
 wink of sleep, so eager was she for Jotunheim." 
 
 Then again Thrym was doubly delighted, and he longed 
 to call her his very own dear wife. " Bring in the wedding 
 gift!" he cried. "Bring in Thor's hammer, Miolnir, 
 and give it to Freia, as I promised ; for when I have kept 
 my word she will be mine all mine!" 
 
 Then Thor's big heart laughed under his woman's 
 dress, and his fierce eyes swept eagerly down the hall 
 to meet the servant who was bringing in the hammer 
 on a velvet cushion. Thor's fingers could hardly 
 wait to clutch the stubby handle which they knew' so 
 well; but he sat quite still on the throne beside ugly old 
 Thrym, with his hands meekly folded and his head 
 bowed like a bashful bride. 
 
 The giant servant drew nearer, nearer, puffing and 
 blowing, strong though he was, beneath the mighty 
 weight. He was about to lay it at Thor's feet (for he 
 thought it so heavy that no maiden could lift it or hold 
 it in her lap), when suddenly Thor's heart swelled, and 
 he gave a most unmaidenly shout of rage and triumph. 
 With one swoop he grasped the hammer in his iron 
 fingers; with the other arm he tore off the veil that hid 
 his terrible face, and trampled it under foot; then he 
 turned to the frightened king, who cowered beside him 
 on the throne. 
 
 "Thief! " he cried. " Freia sends you this as a wedding 
 gift!" And he whirled the hammer about his head, 
 then hurled it once, twice, thrice, as it rebounded to his 
 hand; and in the first stroke, as of lightning, Thrym 
 rolled dead from his throne; in the second stroke per- 
 ished the whole giant household these ugly enemies of 
 the JEslr\ and in the third stroke the palace itself tumbled
 
 Tlie Quest oj the Hammer 329 
 
 together and fell to the ground like a toppling playhouse 
 of blocks. 
 
 But Loki and Thor stood safely among the ruins, 
 dressed in their tattered maiden robes, a quaint and 
 curious sight; and Loki, full of mischief now as ever, 
 burst out laughing. 
 
 "Oh, Thor! if you could see " he began; but Thor 
 held up his hammer and shook it gently as he said: 
 
 "Look now, Loki: it was an excellent joke, and so 
 far you have done well after your crafty fashion, which 
 likes me not. But now I have my hammer again, and 
 the joke is done. From you, nor from another, I brook 
 no laughter at my expense. Henceforth we will have no 
 mention of this masquerade, nor of these rags which now 
 I throw away. Do you hear, red laughter?" 
 
 And Loki heard, with a look of hate, and stifled his 
 laughter as best he could; for it is not good to laugh 
 at him who holds the hammer. 
 
 Not once after that was there mention in Asgard of 
 the time when Thor dressed him as a girl and won his 
 bridal gift from Thrym the giant. 
 
 But Miolnir was safe once more in Asgard, and you 
 and I know how it came there; so someone must have 
 told. I wonder if red Loki whispered the tale to some 
 outsider, after all? Perhaps it may be so, for now he 
 knew how best to make Thor angry; and from that day 
 when Thor forbade his laughing, Loki hated him with 
 the mean little hatred of a mean little soul.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE APPLES OF IDUN 
 
 ONCE upon a time Odin, Loki, and Hoener started 
 on a journey. They had often travelled together before 
 on all sorts of errands, for they had a great many things 
 to look after, and more than once they had fallen into 
 trouble through the prying, meddlesome, malicious spirit 
 of Loke, who was never so happy as when he was doing 
 wrong. When the gods went on a journey they trav- 
 elled fast and hard, for they were strong, active spirits 
 who loved nothing so much as hard work, hard blows, 
 storm, peril, and struggle. There were no roads through 
 the country over which they made their way, only high 
 mountains to be climbed by rocky paths, deep valleys 
 into which the sun hardly looked during half the year, 
 and swift-rushing streams, cold as ice, and treacherous 
 to the surest foot and the strongest arm. Not a bird 
 flew through the air, not an animal sprang through the 
 trees. It was as still as a desert. The gods walked 
 on and on, getting more tired and hungry at 
 every step. The sun was sinking low over the 
 steep, pine-crested mountains, and the travellers 
 had neither breakfasted nor dined. Even Odin was 
 beginning to feel the pangs of hunger, like the 
 most ordinary mortal, when suddenly, entering a little 
 valley, the famished gods came upon a herd of 
 cattle. It was the work of a minute to kill a 
 
 330
 
 The Apples of I dun 331 
 
 great ox and to have the carcass swinging in a 
 huge pot over a roaring fire. 
 
 But never were gods so unlucky before! In spite of 
 their hunger, the pot would not boil. They piled on 
 the wood until the great flames crackled and licked the 
 pot with their fiery tongues, but every time the cover was 
 lifted there was the meat just as raw as when it was put 
 in. It is easy to imagine that the travellers were not in 
 very good humour. As they were talking about it, and 
 wondering how it could be, a voice called out from the 
 branches of the oak overhead, "If you will give me my 
 fill, I'll make the pot boil." 
 
 The gods looked first at each other and then into 
 the tree, and there they discovered a great eagle. They 
 were glad enough to get their supper on almost any 
 terms, so they told the eagle he might have what he 
 wanted if he would only get the meat cooked. The bird 
 was as good as his word, and in less time than it takes 
 to tell it supper was ready. Then the eagle flew down 
 and picked out both shoulders and both legs. This was 
 a pretty large share, it must be confessed, and Loki, 
 who was always angry when anybody got more than he, 
 no sooner saw what the eagle had taken, than he seized 
 a great pole and began to beat the rapacious bird unmerci- 
 fully. Whereupon a very singular thing happened, as 
 singular things always used to happen when the gods 
 were concerned: the pole stuck fast in the huge talons 
 of the eagle at one end, and Loki stuck fast at the other 
 end. Struggle as he might, he could not get loose, and 
 as the great bird sailed away over the tops of the trees, 
 Loki went pounding along on the ground, striking against 
 rocks and branches until he was bruised half to death. 
 
 The eagle was not an ordinary bird by any means, as
 
 332 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Loki soon found when he begged for mercy. The giant 
 Thjasse happened to be flying abroad in his eagle plu- 
 mage when the hungry travellers came under the oak and 
 tried to cook the ox. It was into his hands that Loki 
 had fallen, and he was not to get away until he had 
 promised to pay roundly for his freedom. 
 
 If there was one thing which the gods prized above 
 their other treasures in Asgard, it was the beautiful fruit 
 of Idun, kept by the goddess in a golden casket and 
 given to the gods to keep them forever young and fair. 
 Without these Apples all their power could not have 
 kept them from getting old like the meanest of mortals. 
 Without these Apples of Idun, Asgard itself would have 
 lost its charm; for what would heaven be without youth 
 and beauty forever shining through it? 
 
 Thjasse told Loki that he could not go unless he 
 would promise to bring him the Apples of Idun. Loki 
 was wicked enough for anything; but when it came to 
 robbing the gods of their immortality, even he hesi- 
 tated. And while he hesitated the eagle dashed hither 
 and thither, flinging him against the sides of the moun- 
 tains and dragging him through the great tough boughs 
 of the oaks until his courage gave out entirely, and he 
 promised to steal the Apples out of Asgard and give 
 them to the giant. 
 
 Loki was bruised and sore enough when he got on his 
 feet again to hate the giant who handled him so roughly, 
 with all his heart, but he was not unwilling to keep 
 his promise to steal the Apples, if only for the sake of 
 tormenting the other gods. But how was it to be done ? 
 Idun guarded the golden fruit of immortality with sleep- 
 less watchfulness. No one ever touched it but herself, 
 and a beautiful sight it was to see her fair hands spread
 
 The Apples of I dun 333 
 
 it forth for the morning feasts in Asgard. The power 
 which Loki possessed lay not so much in his own strength, 
 although he had a smooth way of deceiving people, as in 
 the goodness of others who had no thought of his doing 
 wrong because they never did wrong themselves. 
 
 Not long after all this happened, Loki came carelessly 
 up to Idun as she was gathering her Apples to put them 
 away in the beautiful carven box which held them. 
 
 "Good-morning, goddess," said he. "How fair and 
 golden your Apples are!" 
 
 "Yes," answered Idun; "the bloom of youth keeps 
 them always beautiful." 
 
 "I never saw anything like them," continued Loki 
 slowly, as if he were talking about a matter of no impor- 
 tance, "until the other day." 
 
 Idun looked up at once with the greatest interest and 
 curiosity in her face. She was very proud of her Apples, 
 and she knew no earthly trees, however large and fair, 
 bore the immortal fruit. 
 
 "Where have you seen any Apples like them?" she 
 asked. 
 
 "Oh, just outside the gates," said Loki indifferently. 
 "If you care to see them I'll take you there. It will keep 
 you but a moment. The tree is only a little way off." 
 
 Idun was anxious to go at once. 
 
 "Better take your Apples with you, to compare them 
 with the others," said the wily god, as she prepared to go. 
 
 Idun gathered up the golden Apples and went out of 
 Asgard, carrying with her all that made it heaven. No 
 sooner was she beyond the gates than a mighty rushing 
 sound was heard, like the coming of a tempest, and before 
 she could think or act, the giant Thjasse, in his eagle 
 plumage, was bearing her swiftly away through the air
 
 334 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 to his desolate, icy home in Thrymheim, where, after 
 vainly trying to persuade her to let him eat the Apples 
 and be forever young like the gods, he kept her a lonely 
 prisoner. 
 
 Loki, after keeping his promise and delivering Idun 
 into the hands of the giant, strayed back into Asgard as 
 if nothing had happened. The next morning, when the 
 gods assembled for their feast, there was no Idun. 
 Day after day went past, and still the beautiful goddess 
 did not come. Little by little the light of youth and 
 beauty faded from the home of the gods, and they them- 
 selves became old and haggard. Their strong, young 
 faces were lined with care and furrowed by age, their 
 raven locks passed from gray to white, and their flashing 
 eyes became dim and hollow. Brage, the god of poetry, 
 could make no music while his beautiful wife was gone 
 he knew not whither. 
 
 Morning after morning the faded light broke on paler 
 and ever paler faces, until even in heaven the eternal 
 light of youth seemed to be going out forever. 
 
 Finally the gods could bear the loss of power and joy 
 no longer. They made rigorous inquiry. They tracked 
 Loki on that fair morning when he led Idun beyond the 
 gates; they seized him and brought him into solemn 
 council, and when he read in their haggard faces the 
 deadly hate which flamed in all their hearts against his 
 treachery, his courage failed, and he promised to bring 
 Idun back to Asgard if the goddess Freyja would lend 
 him her falcon guise. No sooner said than done; and 
 with eager gaze the gods watched him as he flew away, 
 becoming at last only a dark moving speck against the 
 sky. 
 
 After long and weary flight Loki came to Thrymheim,
 
 The Apples of Idun 335 
 
 and was glad enough to find Thjasse gone to sea and 
 Idun alone in his dreary house. He changed her instantly 
 into a nut, and taking her thus disguised in his talons, 
 flew away as fast as his falcon wings could carry him. 
 And he had need of all his speed, for Thjasse, coming 
 suddenly home and finding Idun and her precious fruit 
 gone, guessed what had happened, and, putting on his 
 eagle plumage, flew forth in a mighty rage, with ven- 
 geance in his heart. Like the rushing wings of a tempest, 
 his mighty pinions beat the air and bore him swiftly 
 onward. From mountain peak to mountain peak he 
 measured his wide course, almost grazing at times the 
 murmuring pine forests, and then sweeping high in mid- 
 air with nothing above but the arching sky, and nothing 
 beneath but the tossing sea. 
 
 At last he sees the falcon far ahead, and now his flight 
 becomes like the flash of the lightning for swiftness, and 
 like the rushing of clouds for uproar. The haggard 
 faces of the gods line the walls of Asgard and watch the 
 race with tremulous eagerness. Youth and immortality 
 are staked upon the winning of Loki. He is weary 
 enough and frightened enough, too, as the eagle sweeps on 
 close behind him; but he makes desperate efforts to widen 
 the distance between them. Little by little the eagle 
 gains on the falcon. The gods grow white with fear; they 
 rush off and prepare great fires upon the walls. With 
 fainting, drooping wing the falcon passes over and 
 drops exhausted by the wall. In an instant the fires 
 have been lighted, and the great flames roar to heaven. 
 The eagle sweeps across the fiery line a second later, and 
 falls, maimed and burned, to the ground, where a dozen 
 fierce hands smite the life out of him, and the great giant 
 Thjasse perishes among his foes.
 
 336 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 Idun resumes her natural form as Brage rushes to meet 
 her. The gods crowd round her. She spreads the 
 feast, the golden Apples gleaming with unspeakable 
 lustre in the eyes of the gods. They eat; and once more 
 their faces glow with the beauty of immortal youth, their 
 eyes flash with the radiance of divine power, and, while 
 Idun stands like a star for beauty among the throng, the 
 song of Brage is heard once more; for poetry and im- 
 mortality are wedded again.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE DEATH OF BALDER 
 
 THERE was one shadow which always fell over Asgard. 
 Sometimes in the long years the gods almost forgot it, 
 it lay so far off, like a dim cloud in a clear sky; but Odin 
 saw it deepen and widen as he looked out into the uni- 
 verse, and he knew that the last great battle would surely 
 come, when the gods themselves would be destroyed and 
 a long twilight would rest on all the worlds; and now 
 the day was close at hand. Misfortunes never come 
 singly to men, and they did not to the gods. Idun, the 
 beautiful goddess of youth, whose apples were the joy of 
 all Asgard, made a resting place for herself among the 
 massive branches of Yggdrasil, and there every evening 
 came Brage, and sang so sweetly that the birds stopped 
 to listen, and even the Norns, those implacable sisters at 
 the foot of the tree, were softened by the melody. But 
 poetry cannot change the purposes of fate, and one 
 evening no song was heard of Brage or birds, 
 the leaves of the world tree hung withered and 
 lifeless on the branches, and the fountain from 
 which they had daily been sprinkled was dry 
 at last. Idun had fallen into the dark valley of death, 
 and when Brage, Heimdal, and Loki went to question 
 her about the future she could answer them only 
 with tears. Brage would not leave his beautiful 
 wife alone amid the dim shades that crowded the 
 
 337
 
 338 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 dreary valley, and so youth and genius vanished out of 
 Asgard forever. 
 
 Balder was the most godlike of all the gods, because 
 he was the purest and the best. Wherever he went his 
 coming was like the coming of sunshine, and all the beauty 
 of summer was but the shining of his face. When men's 
 hearts were white like the light, and their lives clear as 
 the day, it was because Balder was looking down upon 
 them with those soft, clear eyes that were open windows 
 to the soul of God. He had always lived in such a glow 
 of brightness that no darkness had ever touched him; 
 but one morning, after Idun and Brage had gone, 
 Balder's face was sad and troubled. He walked slowly 
 from room to room in his palace Breidablik, stainless as 
 the sky when April showers have swept across it because 
 no impure thing had ever crossed the threshold, and 
 his eyes were heavy with sorrow. In the night terrible 
 dreams had broken his sleep, and made it a long torture. 
 The air seemed to be full of awful changes for him and 
 for all the gods. He knew in his soul that the shadow 
 of the last great day was sweeping on ; as he looked out and 
 saw the worlds lying in light and beauty, the fields yellow 
 with waving grain, the deep fiords flashing back the sun- 
 beams from their clear depths, the verdure clothing the 
 loftiest mountains, and knew that over all this darkness 
 and desolation would come, with silence of reapers and 
 birds, with fading of leaf and flower, a great sorrow fell 
 on his heart. 
 
 Balder could bear the burden no longer. He went out, 
 called all the gods together, and told them the terrible 
 dreams of the night. Every face was heavy with care. 
 The death of Balder would be like the going out of the 
 sun, and after a long, sad council the gods resolved to
 
 The Death of Balder 339 
 
 protect him from harm by pledging all things to stand 
 between him and any hurt. So Frigg, his mother, went 
 forth and made everything promise, on a solemn oath, 
 not to injure her son. Fire, iron, all kinds of metal, every 
 sort of stone, trees, earth, diseases, birds, beasts, snakes, 
 as the anxious mother went to them, solemnly pledged 
 themselves that no harm should come near Balder. 
 Everything promised, and Frigg thought she had driven 
 away the cloud ; but fate was stronger than her love, and 
 one little shrub had not sworn. 
 
 Odin was not satisfied even with these precautions, for 
 whichever way he looked the shadow of a great sorrow 
 spread over the worlds. He began to feel as if he were 
 no longer the greatest of the gods, and he could almost 
 hear the rough shouts of the frost giants crowding the 
 rainbow bridge on their way into Asgard. When trouble 
 comes to men it is hard to bear, but to a god who had so 
 many worlds to guide and rule it was a new and terrible 
 thing. Odin thought and thought until he was weary, 
 but no gleam of light could he find anywhere; it was 
 thick darkness everywhere. 
 
 At last he could bear the suspense no longer, and 
 saddling his horse he rode sadly out of Asgard to Niflheim, 
 the home of Hel, whose face was as the face of death itself. 
 As he drew near the gates, a monstrous dog came out and 
 barked furiously, but Odin rode a little eastward of the 
 shadowy gates to the grave of a wonderful prophetess. 
 It was a cold, gloomy place, and the soul of the great 
 god was pierced with a feeling of hopeless sorrow as he 
 dismounted from Sleipner, and bending over the grave 
 began to chant weird songs, and weave magical charms 
 over it. When he had spoken those wonderful words 
 which could waken the dead from their sleep, there was
 
 340 Myths Every Child Should Ktww 
 
 an awful silence for a moment, and then a faint ghost- 
 like voice came from the grave. 
 
 "Who art thou?" it said. "Who breaketh the silence 
 of death, and calleth the sleeper out of her long slumbers ? 
 Ages ago I was laid at rest here, snow and rain have fallen 
 upon me through myriad years; why dost thou disturb 
 me?" 
 
 "I am Vegtam," answered Odin, "and I come to ask 
 why the couches of Hel are hung with gold and the benches 
 strewn with shining rings?" 
 
 "It is done for Balder," answered the awful voice; 
 "ask me no more." 
 
 Odin's heart sank when he heard these words; but he 
 was determined to know the worst. 
 
 "I will ask thee until I know all. Who shall strike 
 the fatal blow?" 
 
 "If I must, I must," moaned the prophetess. "Hoder 
 shall smite his brother Balder and send him down to the 
 dark home of Hel. The mead is already brewed for 
 Balder, and the despair draweth near." 
 
 Then Odin, looking into the future across the open 
 grave, saw all the days to come. 
 
 "Who is this," he said, seeing that which no mortal 
 could have seen; "who is this that will not weep for 
 Balder?" 
 
 Then the prophetess knew that it was none other than 
 the greatest of the gods who had called her up. 
 
 "Thou art not Vegtam," she exclaimed, "thou art 
 Odin himself, the king of men." 
 
 "And thou," answered Odin angrily, "art no prophet- 
 ess, but the mother of three giants." 
 
 "Ride home, then, and exult in what thou hast dis- 
 covered," said the dead woman. "Never shall my
 
 The Death o] Balder 341 
 
 slumbers be broken again until Loki shall burst his 
 chains and the great battle come." 
 
 And Odin rode sadly homeward knowing that already 
 Niflheim was making itself beautiful against the coming 
 of Balder. 
 
 The other gods meanwhile had become merry again; 
 for had not everything promised to protect their beloved 
 Balder? They even made sport of that which troubled 
 them, for when they found that nothing could hurt 
 Balder, and that all things glanced aside from his shining 
 form, they persuaded him to stand as a target for their 
 weapons; hurling darts, spears, swords, and battle- 
 axes at him, all of which went singing through the air 
 and fell harmless at his feet. But Loki, when he saw 
 these sports, was jealous of Balder, and went about 
 thinking how he could destroy him. 
 
 It happened that as Frigg sat spinning in her house 
 Fensal, the soft wind blowing in at the windows and 
 bringing the merry shouts of the gods at play, an old 
 woman entered and approached her. 
 
 "Do you know," asked the newcomer, "what they are 
 doing in Asgard? They are throwing all manner of 
 dangerous weapons at Balder. He stands there like the 
 sun for brightness, and against his glory, spears and battle- 
 axes fall powerless to the ground. Nothing can harm 
 him." 
 
 "No," answered Frigg joyfully; "nothing can bring 
 him any hurt, for I have made everything in heaven and 
 earth swear to protect him." 
 
 "What!" said the old woman, "has everything sworn 
 to guard Balder?" 
 
 "Yes," said Frigg, "everything has sworn except one 
 little shrub which is called Mistletoe, and grows on the
 
 342 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 eastern side of Valhal. I did not take an oath from that 
 because I thought it too young and weak." 
 
 When the old woman heard this a strange light came 
 into her eyes; she walked off much faster than she had 
 come in, and no sooner had she passed beyond Frigg's 
 sight than this same feeble old woman grew suddenly 
 erect, shook off her woman's garments, and there stood 
 Loki himself. In a moment he had reached the slope 
 east of Valhal, had plucked a twig of the unsworn Mistle- 
 toe, and was back in the circle of the gods, who were still 
 at their favourite pastime with Balder. Hoder was 
 standing silent and alone outside the noisy throng, for 
 he was blind. Loki touched him. 
 
 "Why do you not throw something at Balder?" 
 
 "Because I cannot see where Balder stands, and have 
 nothing to throw if I could," replied Hoder. 
 
 "If that is all," said Loki, "come with me. I will give 
 you something to throw, and direct your aim." 
 
 Hoder, thinking no evil, went with Loki and did as 
 he was told. 
 
 The little sprig of Mistletoe shot through the air, 
 pierced the heart of Balder, and in a moment the beautiful 
 god lay dead upon the field. A shadow rose out of the 
 deep beyond the worlds and spread itself over heaven 
 and earth, for the light of the universe had gone out. 
 
 The gods could not speak for horror. They stood like 
 statues for a moment, and then a hopeless wail burst 
 from their lips. Tears fell like rain from eyes that had 
 never wept before, for Balder, the joy of Asgard, had 
 gone to Niflheim and left them desolate. But Odin was 
 saddest of all, because he knew the future, and he knew 
 that peace and light had fled from Asgard forever, and 
 that the last day and the long night were hurrying on.
 
 The Death of Balder 343 
 
 Frigg could not give up her beautiful son, and when her 
 grief had spent itself a little, she asked who would go 
 to Hel and offer her a rich ransom if she would permit 
 Balder to return to Asgard. 
 
 "I will go," said Hermod; swift at the word of Odin 
 Sleipner was led forth, and in an instant Hermod was 
 galloping furiously away. 
 
 Then the gods began with sorrowful hearts to make 
 ready for Balder's funeral. When the once beautiful 
 form had been arrayed in grave clothes they carried it 
 reverently down to the deep sea, which lay, calm as a 
 summer afternoon, waiting for its precious burden. 
 Close to the water's edge lay Balder's Ringhorn, the 
 greatest of all the ships that sailed the seas, but when 
 the gods tried to launch it they could not move it an inch. 
 The great vessel creaked and groaned, but no one could 
 push it down to the water. Odin walked about it with a 
 sad face, and the gentle ripple of the little waves chasing 
 each other over the rocks seemed a mocking laugh to him. 
 
 "Send to Jotunheim for Hyrroken," he said at last; and 
 a messenger was soon flying for that mighty giantess. 
 
 In a little time, Hyrroken came riding swiftly on a 
 wolf so large and fierce that he made the gods think of 
 Fenrer. When the giantess had alighted, Odin ordered 
 four Berserkers of mighty strength to hold the wolf, but 
 he struggled so angrily that they had to throw him on the 
 ground before they could control him. Then Hyrroken 
 went to the prow of the ship and with one mighty effort 
 sent it far into the sea, the rollers underneath bursting 
 into flame, and the whole earth trembling with the shock. 
 Thor was so angry at the uproar that he would have 
 killed the giantess on the spot if he had not been held 
 back by the other gods. The great ship floated on the
 
 344 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 sea as she had often done before, when Balder, full of life 
 and beauty, set all her sails and was borne joyfully 
 across the tossing seas. Slowly and solemnly the dead 
 god was carried on board, and as Nanna, his faithful wife, 
 saw her husband borne for the last time from the earth 
 which he had made dear to her and beautiful to all men, 
 her heart broke with sorrow, and they laid her beside 
 Balder on the funeral pyre. 
 
 Since the world began no one had seen such a funeral. 
 No bells tolled, no long procession of mourners moved 
 across the hills, but all the worlds lay under a deep 
 shadow, and from every quarter came those who had 
 loved or feared Balder. There at the very water's edge 
 stood Odin himself, the ravens flying about his head, and 
 on his majestic face a gloom that no sun would ever 
 lighten again; and there was Frigg, the desolate mother 
 whose son had already gone so far that he would never 
 come back to her; there was Frey standing sad and 
 stern in his chariot; there was Freyja, the goddess of 
 love, from whose eyes fell a shining rain of tears; there, 
 too, was Heimdal on his horse Goldtop; and around all 
 these glorious ones from Asgard crowded the children 
 of Jotunheim, grim mountain giants seamed with scars 
 from Thor's hammer, and frost giants who saw in the 
 death of Balder the coming of that long winter in which 
 they should reign through all the worlds. 
 
 A deep hush fell on all created things, and every eye 
 was fixed on the great ship riding near the shore, and on 
 the funeral pyre rising from the deck crowned with the 
 forms of Balder and Nanna. Suddenly a gleam of 
 light flashed over the water; the pile had been kindled, 
 and the flames, creeping slowly at first, climbed faster 
 and faster until they met over the dead and rose skyward.
 
 The Death of Balder 345 
 
 A lurid light filled the heavens and shone on the sea, and 
 in the brightness of it the gods looked pale and sad, and 
 the circle of giants grew darker and more portentous. 
 Thor struck the fast burning pyre with his consecrating 
 hammer, and Odin cast into it the wonderful ring Draup- 
 ner. Higher and higher leaped the flames, more and 
 more desolate grew the scene; at last they began to sink, 
 the funeral pyre was consumed. Balder had vanished 
 forever, the summer was ended, and winter waited at the 
 doors. 
 
 Meanwhile Hermod was riding hard and fast on his 
 gloomy errand. Nine days and nights he rode through 
 valleys so deep and dark that he could not see his horse. 
 Stillness and blackness and solitude were his only com- 
 panions until he came to the golden bridge which crosses 
 the river Gjol. The good horse Sleipner, who had 
 carried Odin on so many strange journeys, had never 
 travelled such a road before, and his hoofs rang drearily 
 as he stopped short at the bridge, for in front of him stood 
 its porter, the gigantic Modgud. 
 
 "Who are you?" she asked, fixing her piercing eyes on 
 Hermod. "What is your name and parentage? Yester- 
 day five bands of dead men rode across the bridge, and 
 beneath them all it did not shake as under your single 
 tread. There is no colour of death In your face. Why 
 ride you hither, the living among the dead?" 
 
 "I come," said Hermod, "to seek for Balder. Have 
 you seen him pass this way?" 
 
 "He has already crossed the bridge and taken his 
 journey northward to Hel." 
 
 Then Hermod rode slowly across the bridge that spans 
 the abyss between life and death, and found his way at 
 last to the barred gates of Hel's dreadful home. There he
 
 346 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 sprang to the ground, tightened the girths, remounted, 
 drove the spurs deep into the horse, and Sleipner, with a 
 mighty leap, cleared the wall. Hermod rode straight to 
 the gloomy palace, dismounted, entered, and in a moment 
 was face to face with the terrible queen of the kingdom of 
 the dead. Beside her, on a beautiful throne, sat Balder, 
 pale and wan, crowned with a withered wreath of 
 flowers, and close at hand was Nanna, pallid as her 
 husband, for whom she had died. And all night long, 
 while ghostly forms wandered restless and sleepless 
 through Helheim, Hermod talked with Balder and 
 Nanna. There is no record of what they said, but the 
 talk was sad enough, doubtless, and ran like a still stream 
 among the happy days in Asgard when Balder's smile 
 was morning over the earth and the sight of his face 
 the summer of the world. 
 
 When the morning came, faint and dim, through the 
 dusky palace, Hermod sought Hel, who received him as 
 cold and stern as fate. 
 
 "Your kingdom is full, O Hel!" he said, "and without 
 Balder, Asgard is empty. Send him back to us once 
 more, for there is sadness in every heart and tears are in 
 every eye. Through heaven and earth all things weep 
 for him." 
 
 "If that is true," was the slow, icy answer, "if every 
 created thing weeps for Balder, he shall return to Asgard; 
 but if one eye is dry he remains henceforth in Helheim." 
 
 Then Hermod rode swiftly away, and the decree of 
 Hel was soon told in Asgard. Through all the worlds 
 the gods sent messengers to say that all who loved 
 Balder should weep for his return, and everywhere tears 
 fell like rain. There was weeping in Asgard, and in all 
 the earth there was nothing that did not weep. Men and
 
 The Death of Balder 347 
 
 women and little children, missing the light that had once 
 fallen into their hearts and homes, sobbed with bitter 
 grief; the birds of the air, who had sung carols of joy at 
 the gates of the morning since time began, were full 
 of sorrow; the beasts of the fields crouched and moaned 
 in their desolation; the great trees, that had put on their 
 robes of green at Balder's command, sighed as the wind 
 wailed through them; and the sweet flowers, that waited 
 for Balder's footstep and sprang up in all the fields to 
 greet him, hung their frail blossoms and wept bitterly 
 for the love and the warmth and the light that had gone 
 out. Throughout the whole earth there was nothing 
 but weeping, and the sound of it was like the wailing of 
 those storms in autumn that weep for the dead summer 
 as its withered leaves drop one by one from the trees. 
 
 The messengers of the gods went gladly back to Asgard, 
 for everything had wept for Balder; but as they journeyed 
 they came upon a giantess, called Thok, and her eyes 
 were dry. 
 
 "Weep for Balder," they said. 
 
 "With dry eyes only will I weep for Balder," she 
 answered. "Dead or alive, he never gave me gladness. 
 Let him stay in Helheim." 
 
 When she had spoken these words a terrible laugh 
 broke from her lips, and the messengers looked at each 
 other with pallid faces, for they knew it was the voice of 
 Loki. 
 
 Balder never came back to Asgard, and the shadows 
 deepened over all things, for the night of death was 
 fast coming on.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE STAR AND THE LILY 
 
 AN old chieftain sat in his wigwam, quietly smoking 
 his favourite pipe, when a crowd of Indian boys and 
 girls suddenly entered, and, with numerous offerings of 
 tobacco, begged him to tell them a story, and he did so. 
 
 There was once a time when this world was filled with 
 happy people; when all the nations were as one, and the 
 crimson tide of war had not begun to roll. Plenty of 
 game was in the forest and on the plains. None were 
 in want, for a full supply was at hand. Sickness was 
 unknown. The beasts of the field were tame; they came 
 and went at the bidding of man. One unending spring 
 gave no place for winter for its cold blasts or its un- 
 healthy chills. Every tree and bush yielded fruit. 
 Flowers carpeted the earth. The air was laden with their 
 fragrance, and redolent with the songs of wedded warblers 
 that flew from branch to branch, fearing none, for there 
 were none to harm them. There were birds then of 
 more beautiful song and plumage than now. It was at 
 such a time, when earth was a paradise and man worthily 
 its possessor, that the Indians were lone inhabitants of 
 the American wilderness. They numbered millions; and, 
 living as nature designed them to live, enjoyed its many 
 blessings. Instead of amusements in close rooms, the 
 sport of the field was theirs. At night they met on the 
 wide green beneath the heavenly worlds the ah-nung-o- 
 
 348
 
 The Star and the Lily 349 
 
 kah. They watched the stars ; they loved to gaze at them, 
 for they believed them to be the residences of the good, 
 who had been taken home by the Great Spirit. 
 
 One night they saw one star that shone brighter than 
 all others. Its location was far away in the south, near a 
 mountain peak. For many nights it was seen, till at 
 length it was doubted by many that the star was as far 
 distant in the southern skies as it seemed to be. This 
 doubt led to an examination, which proved the star to be 
 only a short distance away, and near the tops of some 
 trees. A number of warriors were deputed to go and 
 see what it was. They went, and on their return said it 
 appeared strange, and somewhat like a bird. A com- 
 mittee of the wise men were called to inquire into, and if 
 possible to ascertain the meaning of, the strange phenome- 
 non. They feared that it might be the omen of some 
 disaster. Some thought it a precursor of good, others of 
 evil; and some supposed it to be the star spoken of by 
 their forefathers as the forerunner of a dreadful war. 
 
 One moon had nearly gone by, and yet the mystery 
 remained unsolved. One night a young warrior had a 
 dream, in which a beautiful maiden came and stood at 
 his side, and thus addressed him: "Young brave! 
 charmed with the land of my forefathers, its flowers, its 
 birds, its rivers, its beautiful lakes, and its mountains 
 clothed with green, I have left my sisters in yonder 
 world to dwell among you. Young brave! ask your wise 
 and your great men where I can live and see the happy 
 race continually; ask them what form I shall assume in 
 order to be loved." 
 
 Thus discoursed the bright stranger. The young man 
 awoke. On stepping out of his lodge he saw the star 
 yet blazing in its accustomed place. At early dawn the
 
 350 Myths Every Child Should Know 
 
 chief's crier was sent round the camp to call every warrior 
 to the council lodge. When they had met, the young 
 warrior related his dream. They concluded that the 
 star that had been seen in the south had fallen in love 
 with mankind, and that it was desirous to dwell with 
 them. 
 
 The next night five tall, noble-looking, adventurous 
 braves were sent to welcome the stranger to earth. They 
 went and presented to it a pipe of peace, filled with 
 sweet-scented herbs, and were rejoiced that it took it from 
 them. As they returned to the village, the star, with 
 expanded wings, followed, and hovered over their homes 
 till the dawn of day. Again it came to the young man in 
 a dream, and desired to know where it should live and 
 what form it should take. Places were named on the 
 top of giant trees, or in flowers. At length it was told to 
 choose a place itself, and it did so. At first it dwelt in 
 the white rose of the mountains; but there it was so 
 buried that it could not be seen. It went to the prairie; 
 but it feared the hoof of the buffalo. It next sought the 
 rocky cliff; but there it was so high that the children, 
 whom it loved most, could not see it. 
 
 "I know where I shall live," said the bright fugitive 
 "where I can see the gliding canoe of the race I most 
 admire. Children! yes, they shall be my playmates, 
 and I will kiss their slumber by the side of cool lakes. 
 The nation shall love me wherever I am." 
 
 These words having been said, she alighted on the 
 waters, where she saw herself reflected. The next 
 morning thousands of white flowers were seen on the 
 surface of the lakes, and the Indians gave them this 
 name, wah-be-gwan-nee (white flower). 
 
 This star lived in the southern skies. Her brethren
 
 The Star and the Lily 351 
 
 can be seen far off in the cold north, hunting the Great 
 Bear, whilst her sisters watch her in the east and west. 
 
 Children! when you see the lily on the waters, take it in 
 your hands and hold it to the skies, that it may be happy 
 on earth, as its two sisters, the morning and evening 
 stars, are happy in heaven,
 
 THE COUNTRY LIFE PRE86 
 GARDEN CITY, N. Y.
 
 LIBRARY